St Pancras Renaissance Hotel

I rehearse just around the corner from this grand 19th century London edifice, so I took the opportunity to take some photographs earlier today.

St Pancras station is fronted by the very posh St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, designed by prolific Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott in the neo-gothic style and opened as the Midland Grand Hotel in 1873. The hotel closed in 1935, and between then and 2011 when it opened as a new hotel it was used as offices for the railway. Despite its mundane existence during that period it did find fame as a popular location for filming – the interior (and particularly the grand staircase) has featured in many movies, including the Harry Potter series, Batman Returns, Richard III and others.

It’s a strikingly beautiful building, and the station beyond is equally dramatic and features lots of unique sculpture as well as the world’s longest champagne bar, next to the Eurostar platforms. Right now its also sporting the Olympic Rings, which hover over the street level exit from the station. You can see the remainder of the photos that I took today here.