Key questions
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What is the Euston Arch Trust?
The Trust is committed to seeing the reconstruction at Euston Station of the Euston Arch that once stood as the entrance to Euston Station and which was demolished in 1962.
The Trust was founded in the early 1990s by a group of historians, architects and journalists headed by Professor Dan Cruickshank following several episodes of the BBC series ‘One Foot in the Past’ in which Cruickshank tracked down the remains of the arch.
A large proportion of the remains of the arch were located in East London where they sit at the bottom of the Prescott Channel off the River Lea.
The discovery of the remains of the arch spurred a campaign to rebuild the arch either with stones recovered from beneath the water and elsewhere or with new stone from the quarry from which the original stone was first cut.
In 2007 following the announcement that discussions were underway regarding the rebuilding of Euston Station the Trust was re-launched to ensure that the new station included a rebuilt Euston Arch.
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Why rebuild the arch?
The redevelopment of Euston Station provides an opportunity to give back to Euston, the local community, London and Britain a building of great importance. The redevelopment of neighboring St Pancras station showed how a station can combine the Victorian legacy with modern facilities necessary for modern travel.
The current Euston station is seen by many as a dark and depressing gateway into and out of London. The redevelopment, we hope, will transform this. We believe the Arch should play a central role in such a transformation, restoring to the capital one of the greatest buildings of the railway age, and a building of international significance. The Euston Arch was a masterpiece and would be the ideal gateway to a new Euston station.
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Why rebuild it now?
Network Rail and British Land have announced that they will redevelop Euston Station in a £1 billion project. This is a golden opportunity to rebuild the arch and return to Euston, the local community, London and Britain a building of major importance that should never have been demolished.
The redevelopment of St Pancras station has already shown how a world class station can combine the old and new. Euston can do the same. The Euston Arch would be a wonderful gateway to the new Euston.
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How much will it cost?
In 1995 the Euston Arch Trust calculated that rebuilding the arch – using new stones and structural technology – would cost around £3.5 million, with a significant increase in costs in proportion to the number of old stones salvaged from beneath the water and repaired.
If a large number of old stones were used then the estimated cost was around £5 million. EAT’s current estimate is £10 million, which includes the use of a number of old stones. These figures are estimate and we are currently reviewing the 1995 proposals.
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Where was the arch?
The location of the arch is now deep within the current station. It was located on the junction of Drummond Street with Euston Grove. A large part of Drummond Street was removed when the station was expanded in the 1960s, although part of the road continues to exist on the western side of the current station. Euston Grove is the road between the two remaining lodges on Euston Square, providing access to the bus station.
The maps and pictures below give some idea of the location of the arch and the current station.
Maps
On the left is a map of the station in the 1920s (the red star indicates the arch), and on the right is a map of the area in 2007 (with the former location of arch indicated by a yellow star).
Photos
The photo on the left is an aerial shot of Euston station in the 1940s with the arch in the centre. On the right is a satellite picture from 2007. The location of the arch is indicted with a red star, the green star indicates the remaining two lodges on Euston Square. Click both for enlarged images.
Inside the current station
The map below shows the current internal layout of Euston. The red star indicates the location of the arch.
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Where can it be rebuilt?
The Arch should be rebuilt at Euston Station, either as part of the newly developed station or in close proximity to it.
One location would be to place the arch between the two remaining lodges that currently look out onto Euston Road. These lodges, along with the railings around Euston Square and the War Memorial that serves as a roundabout in the bus station are all that remain of the old Euston station and neighbouring buildings. A proposal was drawn up for EAT in 1996 by Alan Baxter & Associates and architect Ptolemy Dean to rebuild the arch between the two gatehouses pictured below on the left. You can read more about it here.
We await proposals for the redevelopment of Euston Station and will work hard to ensure that the arch is included in the design.
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What purpose would the Arch serve?
The Arch could serve numerous purposes. It could be the focal point of a newly developed and world class Euston station. But the rebuilt arch need not simply be a gateway or a monument. The Trust has been examining several options that would allow the room within the entablature and pediment of the arch to be open for public use as a bar or restaurant. One of the existing lodges already functions as a private bar. You can read these proposals here
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What would it add to the local community?
The arch would return to the Euston community one of the many fine buildings that the area has lost over the years. The 1960s redevelopment not only saw the demolition of the arch but also the destruction of buildings such the Grand Hotel and the Booking Hall. A splendid 1830s crescent off Drummond Street had already been demolished in the 1930s. All of these you can see in our gallery. Rebuilding one of these lost buildings would return some of the area’s distinct character that was lost in the 1960s.
But this isn’t just about buildings that were demolished with complete disregard for the local area. Euston deserves better than the current station that currently disfigures the area. The redevelopment of Euston provides a wonderful opportunity for Euston and we believe the arch can form the forefront of one of the finest railway stations in London, Britain and the world. It would form the gateway to a station that Euston, London and Britain could be truly proud of.
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Why not forget the arch and build something modern?
When it was built the arch was a symbol of progress and a noble piece of architecture that befitted the entrance to the world’s first ever trunk line terminus in a capital city.
A rebuilt arch would not be a monument to the past. It would be an eye-catching and internationally significant emblem of a newly rejuvenated Euston. It would provide the new station with a reminder of the past. The redevelopment of neighboring St Pancras station has shown that modern and old buildings can be beautifully combined.
Rebuilding the arch would make use of both modern and old building techniques.
The arch has not been forgotten. It remains a powerful almost mythic memory and a much mourned London building. It should be returned to us.
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Who supports the campaign?
Details of the trustees and our patron and the numerous supporters
can be found on our pages:
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Michael Palin,
Patron of the Euston Arch Trust. Photo © Basil Pao
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What can I do?
We need your support! The Euston Arch is one of Britain’s most well-remembered and well-loved buildings to have suffered demolition. Its reconstruction is something that unites many. Visit “What you can do” where you will find many ways you can join our efforts to rebuild the arch such as:
- Sign up as a supporter of the trust and receive regular updates of news and events
- Write to Camden’s councilors and MP Frank Dobson urging them to support the rebuilding and to make it a planning condition for the new Euston station.
- Write to Network Rail and their partners telling them you want the arch rebuilt.
- Join our Facebook Group ‘Euston Arch’.
- Donate and help fund the campaign.
- Send us your memories and photos.
- Tell a friend about the group
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Why did they demolish the arch?
As you can read in the history section by clicking here, Euston station prior to the redevelopment of the 1960s was a crowded and congested site. In order to upgrade the station the entire complex was demolished and replaced with the current airport style terminus design.
As with many such developments in the 1960s, the historicist style of the arch was not admired by those in charge of the redevelopment. Despite a huge public outcry and campaign the go ahead for demolition was given by the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan who noted that ‘an obsession with such buildings will drain our national vitality’.
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Where are the remains of the arch?
In 1993 and 1994 the historian Dan Cruickshank tracked down the remains of the arch for some episodes of the BBC series 'One Foot in the Past'. In the first episode in 1993 he discovered that some of the stones from the arch and its lodges were used by the demolition contractor, Frank Valori, in the construction of his own house - Paradise Villa, Sundridge Avenue, Bromley, Kent. Stones were used in the foundations, for a pond and to form a garden terrace.
In 1994 Dan Cruickshank discovered an estimated 60% of the 4,400 tons of the arch buried in the bed of the Prescott Channel at its junction with the Channelsea River that runs into the River Lea in the East End of London. The location of the rubble had been revealed by Bob Cotton, a British Waterways engineer, who stated that the rubble had been purchased in 1962 to fill a chasm in the bed of the Prescott Channel. A fluted section of a column was recovered from the river bed.
The Prescott Channel is currently the centre of a major construction project to build a new lock that will serve the rivers in the area and control the tide. The remains of the arch are to the south of the lock. More details about the lock can be found in a BBC News article accessed here
The location of the Prescott Channel is to the east of Three Mill Studios, E33DY. If you follow the link below the Google map will centre on Three Mill Studios. The resting place of the arch is in the river to the east of this at the southern end of the Prescott Channel. A small footbridge can be seen crossing the spot.
Google map of the Prescott Channel
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How big was the Euston Arch?
The arch was 70 feet 6inches high and 44 feet deep (21.5m high by 13.4m deep)
The diameter of the columns was 8ft 6in (2.6m)
It is estimated to have weighed 4,420 tons
The stone came from Bramley in West Yorkshire.
You can gain a sense of the scale of the arch by the photo to the right.
Click on it to enlarge (opens a new window).
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Can I download any information packs about the arch?
There are several PDF documents you can download about the arch and the Euston Arch Trust
The Euston Arch Trust 4 page leaflet is available to download here. (3 MB PDF)
The Euston Arch Trust single page leaflet is available to download here. (1.1 MB PDF)
The Euston Arch Poster is available to download here. (1.9 MB PDF)
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What is left of the old Euston Station?
A selection of items from the old Euston station have been preserved. They are to be found throughout the UK.
Euston Square and the two lodges
Euston Square - and more precisely Euston Grove - is a shadow of its former self. Dominated by a bus station, roundabout and imposing black office blocks the square has lost much of the charm it had when first laid out in the 1810s. Soon after in the 1830s the area became the centre for the new Euston station and development from then onwards owed much to the nature of the station. Expansion in the are in 1870 saw the construction of the two lodges that remain to this day. The lodges were not simply symbolic but also functioned as information and parcel collecting points. A bronze statue of Robert Stephenson (see below) was placed in the central reservation at the Grove's entrance. It was also at this time that the word 'Euston' was carved onto the arch.
The two lodges remain standing, having been spared the wreckers ball in the 1960s. One houses a private bar. Original railings still surround the square.
The square also contains the war memorial to railway men who lost their lives in the First World War. Designed by Reginald Wynn it was completed in 1921. Additional plaques were added to service men and women following the Second World War.
Further details of the area can be found at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain/projects/euston_grove/index.htm
The Gates
One of the most imposing and well remembered features of the old Euston station were the gates to the arch. Standing approximately 12feet tall they were installed when the arch was first built. The gates were located both within the arch and to the sides, providing both an impressive sight and a sure means of protecting the property.
The gates from the arch are now to be found on display in the National Railway Museum (see below). The gates from the side of the arch are to be found at the National Tram Museum.
Statues of George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson
A statue of George Stephenson - the great railway engineer and designer of the Rocket - stood at the bottom of the main stairs in the Great Hall (see middle picture below). The statue now stands in the National Railway Museum in York (see picture below on the left).
The statue of Robert Stephenson - the only son of George Stephenson, as great an engineer as his father and who led the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway for which Euston was the London terminus - originally stood between the two lodges on Euston Grove/Square (see above) but now stands overlooking the forecourt of the current Euston station (see below on the right).
That statues to two of the world's greatest railway engineers were located at Euston reminds us of how central a role Euston and the railway it served has played in the development of Britain's railways.
Plaque from the Great Hall
The plaque commemorates the opening of the Great Hall in 1838. They are now on display at the National Railway Museum in York.
Clock from the Great Hall
The clock was located in the Great Hall and is now to be found at the National Railway Museum in York.
Silver model of the arch
Following the demolition of the arch, the demolition contractor Mr Valori presented a silver model of the arch to Lord Esher, who admitted that the gesture "made him feel as if some man had murdered his wife and then presented him with her bust". That model was later stolen, but the National Railway Museum holds a similar one as pictured below.
Britannia
The sculpture of Britannia was located over the door that led to the Shareholder meeting room which was reached via the stairs in the Great Hall. After demolition of the Great Hall the sculpture was moved to the first class bar and restaurant on the first floor of the new Euston station where it remained until the 1990s. It was then placed in the care of the National Railway Museum.
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