St Pancras Renaissance hotel, London – a future for the past

Abstract

This paper looks at the process of appraisal, both in general and in the particular case where it is used to justify a new use for a redundant historic building. The focus of the paper is St Pancras Chambers in London, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. Originally one of the great railway hotels, the building was taken into use as offices after the hotel closed in 1935. In the 1980s it was vacated and remained unoccupied for a number of years, with significant deterioration occurring. The building, now grade 1 listed, is undergoing restoration some 140 years after its original design to transform it back to a luxury hotel, the St Pancras Renaissance hotel, with a level of servicing consistent with modern expectations. The work is taking place in close consultation with English Heritage. Intervention has been limited to the extent that this can be sensibly justified, and alterations are generally reversible. The appraisal has focused on the Moreland floors and the condition of the timber roof trusses. The paper sets out the methodology adopted to justify the continuing use of the building in order to give a ‘future for the past’ to this great Victorian building.