A central European perspective. St Pancras is one of the three Ice Saints (along with St Boniface and St Servatus). Their feast-days come on 11 May (St Boniface), 12 May (St Pancras) and 13 May (Servatus); a time of spring that often coincides with a cold snap. In Poland, these three saints are known as the Cold Gardeners (zimni ogrodnicy); Austrian, Belgian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, North-Italian, Slovak, Slovene and Swiss folklore also have the same tradition. Climate change has put an end to all this, however; in Warsaw today we had high of 27C. Tomorrow is St Pancras's Day, 24C forecast.
Here in New Zealand, we are waking up to the first cold snap of Autumn (it’s also the 12th) a balmy 2 degrees C, although the high later today will be 14C.
St Pancras station stands on part of the church graveyard. A young Thomas Hardy (he of the novels) was in charge of the excavation of mortal remains so the Midland Railway could build its new terminus. He immortalised the process in a poem, "The Levelled Churchyard". The "Hardy Tree" around which the gravestones were stacked still stands.
Indeed, he was assigned to the project and there’s been talk for some time that the tree will need taking down as it’s dying. The St Pancras (Old) Church itself is a fascinating visit though a Victorian re-build there’s been a site of Christian worship there since the seventh century which probably means it was a pagan shrine of some kind beforehand. The graveyard too has history as a place foreigners would be buried traditionally and there’s a memorial to interred diplomats who died in London, it’s also the site of the resting place of the mother of the (in)famous Wollstonecraft sisters, and Sir John Soan’s tomb there was the model for the renowned domed shape of the M2 and M4 red telephone boxes. Behind it all is the St Pancras mortuary and coroners court. The former being where the Welsh vagrant who became “The Man Who Never Was” ended up after dying, of pneumonia, in the St Pancras Hospital next door - the subject of the current movie Operation Mincemeat (2022).
Possible burial place of William Franklin, son of American founding father Benjamin Franklin. His grave marker probably ended up surrounding the Hardy Tree.
I've often vaguely wondered "Who the heck is St. Pancras?", but could never be arsed to look it up. I'm now going to vaguely wonder why the pancreas is called "all flesh" instead.
There’s an old joke about some American (?) tourists standing outside the station and asking for the times of the services at “that church”, and being handed a railway timetable.
Very informative. St. Pancras' Old Church is the site of a well-known Beatles photography session in 1969. In their two greatest hits albums, _1962/1966_ and _1967/1970_ (known informally as the "Red" and "Blue" albums), the inside photo of them with ordinary people around a railing was taken just to the left of the old church. It's a lovely little park as well on a sunny day.
St Pancras is one of the most spectacular buildings in London. It’s interesting to imagine just what the real St Pancras would have thought if he could have seen the building which carries his own name. Surely, if he ever saw a building comparable to the station it was only one dedicated to an Emperor or Roman God. I’m sure he’d have been thoroughly surprised.
It really is a gorgeous building. Maybe his preserved head would like to visit to take a look at it. But it's the quite modest church next door that's really dedicated to him. The station is simply named after the area where it's located, as are all railway stations. (Ok, some parkway stations have slightly tenuous names.)
@@johnm2012 To be pedantic, I think there are some exceptions, Victoria is named after a Queen and I believe the area it is in gradually gained the name of the station. Waterloo is named after the famous battle and the area around it is occasionally known by that name.
It is a brilliant development of a brilliant original design and construction. I used it for a year in BR days pre HST. It was a disgrace, dirty, run down, you could hardly breathe in the train shed for diesel fumes. Perhaps if people were more aware of the vast improvements all over Britain in the last 40 years we might appreciate our Country more.
You mention Christians being burned by Romans, and this reminds me of the story of Saint Lawrence. One of the Deacons of Rome, he was martyred during the persecutions under Emperor Valerian, bound to a gridiron and burned. The legend says that, before dying, he told his tormentors "Turn me over, this side is done." And thus, Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of chefs and comedians.
As someone who is currently both battling pancreatic cancer and a huge fan of railways, i’m rather glad St Pancras station isn’t called St Pancreas. I’m also greatly impressed by the sacrifice of St Pancras, refusing wealth and being martyred for his faith. We have visited St Pancras old church. As usual an excellent video Jago, thank you.
If I had a child, I would name him Pancrazius. He would grow up to be a real saint. Since I have been unable to reproduce, I will keep my unborn child named Jagonius Maximus. He’s an amazing progeny! Carry on!
San Pancracio (his Spanish name) is popular for the job patronage in Spain. It is really usual having a little statue of him at job or home, just to be safe on the business side. I think I mentioned that already, but it was fitting here.
Anglicised versions of names appear and take root in England and other nations attain their own-language versions of names that originated somewhere else,though. I learnt yesterday that the Spanish Guillermo = William.
Very interesting to learn! Curiously there is a tiny town quite near to where I live named St. Pankraz which also gets it's name from the same person, but I always have to think about London and the station when I'm there.
There are actually two, that one is the Old, the New being a station length's south in Euston Road. The new one is, I think, what you would call neo classical, complete with caryatids, ie human shaped columns.
Minor bit of trivia. Christianity was very much an urban religion. It took a while to reach the sticks. Country folks stayed with the old gods for quite a while. The latin for country dweller is 'pagan'. So that's where we got the idea of non Christians being pagan.
I grew up going to Catholic schools, and another nearby parish and school (that we would compete against in sports, only 2 miles away) is named St. Pancratius. I had assumed they were named after two separate people, but now I know it's one and the same guy. Thanks!
A scant 60 years ago, and mostly likely more, Catholic schools in eastern Massachusetts were obliged to compete in "catholic" leagues. Finding willing public opponents was difficult. During the 50s and 60s a successful eastern Massachusetts school would travel to Florida to face an equally successful team. During my high school time the team that qualified under the rules happened to be my Catholic boys' high school. We were not extended the invitation because the southern sponsors could not accept the prospect of losing to a Catholic team, never mind a northern team. Some of the faculty at our schools had as equally obscure Roman martyrs as their chosen names.
@@ruffian2952 In Southern California the Catholic schools are all in their own leagues (sometimes with a non Catholic private school thrown in). Though at the elementary school level I don't think we had an actual league. For the CIF playoffs however, they do compete against public schools. And they will often face public schools for non league matches. My old high school is now one of the best in the country in football and they routinely travel every year out of state to play another top school, as well as play a home game or two against an out of state power. They have gone to Florida a few times (along with NV, NJ, OH, OR, UT, and MD all come to mind), and have hosted a couple of Florida teams.
@@comicus01 In Massachusetts an interesting shell game was played in hockey. In an effort to eliminate Catholic schools from their predominance in the state playoffs the state athletic directors initiated a new division called the Elite Eight. The formula for membership was convoluted. Then to the horror of the ADs the Catholic schools soon were the majority of the eight schools. For a portion of one season the Eight were all Catholic schools. The howling by public schools was deafening. We too were driven out of state to find football opponents but they too were Catholic schools. Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island filled our schedules. Now the football playoffs are made part of a teams regular schedule. It is a sort of round robin deal where you can end up playing the same team more than once. Don't ask me. Plays havoc with long standing Thanksgiving rivalries.
That was really interesting. I'm loosing my Eurostar virginity next Tuesday when I travel to Belgium. St Pancras is an amazing station with a statue to its saviour and my favourite poet Sir John Betjeman
St Pancras is SO IMPORTANT, that Ealing studios decided to show it in the classic 1955/6 film The,Lady Killers. The mock up house at the end of Fredrica Street over the Southern Portal of Copenhagen tunnel had a front door at the end of Argyle Street which is actually off Euston Road and it shows St Pancras Station when Mrs Wilberforce opens the door to the bungling lady killers.
@@martinross5521 and wots wrong wiv muscle, it's a democracy, I got a vote too. Ok I'm wiv you and the major, Mrs Lopsided just got voted in Danny Green aka Mr Lawson or one round. He had a butchers shop in Hammersmith.
@@martinross5521 I also remember the M4 fly over. Ironical that the lady killers lair was at the bottom of Fredrica Street, the other end it meets the Caledonian Road and on the opposite side of the Caley is Pentonville prison No doubt Messrs Lawson and Mr Robinson had done a bit of porridge in the Ville.
@@Steven_Rowe I had some time to spare one day in London and went exploring for the location of filming above the tunnels. I went into a ready mix plant but cycled off before I got a concrete overcoat. There’s been lots of new development where they had the house and the scene is very different. But I like Highgate Cemetery used for Morgan Delt and his mum when they celebrate Karl Marx’s birthday in Morgan - a Suitable Case for Treatment. Deffo the same now!
An opportunity to big up Brendan Kavanagh, another of my favourite RUclipsrs and a brilliant pianist. He often plays the public piano at St Pancras to much acclaim. ruclips.net/user/BrendanKavanaghDrK
Amazing. Last week it was a video about theories of how a fictitious underground station could have been made in a parallel universe. Today it is real Roman history, theology and etymology. I have to admit this channel is no ordinary anorak railway site. I'm sure that there must be an Open University course for which this video could become part of the course material.
Good choice of shots and thoughtful camera work illustrating St Pancras station and how it got its name. The only thing you don't mention is that this station narrowly escaped demolition, being saved by the bell at the last minute when it was earmarked as a possible terminus for Channel Tunnel trains! Thanks for uploading.
I always wondered about this. Thanks for enlightening us. Bonus for the alternative meaning of "Pancreas". Very informative video. This is why I love this channel.
One of the most interesting comments sections I have ever laid my eyes on perchance. Many thanks for answering a question even I, sitting at my desk in Hamilton, New Zealand, had reason to wonder about.
Funnily enough there's a Chapel of St. Pancras in what used to be the ancient Guildhall Yard of Exeter. Exeter, or Isca, was the furthest Western extent of the Roman Empire, so that makes sense I suppose.
They were going to demolish this Station in the early 90s, it was Eurostar that saved the day when the high speed line saw it moved from Waterloo Station to St Pancras.
@@thomasburke2683 Disagree about Antwerpen. The view upwards from the lowest level platforms, where you can see the modern engineering in contrast to the more ornate decoration is unique. I think in this case the elegant engineering solution to the problem of adding capacity works very well, both pratically and aethetically. I do agree that Antwerpen is a wonderful station.
Thank you for the story about St. Pancratius....I don't know him but he is one among the saints in my novena book....I've been searching for this and I finally found it in you...God bless you....
There's a tiny little St Pancras Chaple in the middle of a shopping centre in Exeter. Presumably, because you can....buy ALL THE THINGS. I'll get me coat.....
At the end of the street at 05:21 was where Mrs Wilberforce had her house and parrot and was host to the Lady Killers .( Except that the back garden looked out on Gas Works and Copenhagen Tunnels and the North London line !)
Hello Jago and again, an excellent video and most educational too. Often wondered where the name of arguably the most incredible railway station in the UK, came from, but to be honest, never got round to doing anything about it. So thank you most sincerely for that. No, I probably wouldn't call my child Pancras no. But on loading a swimming baths bus one day, a couple of years ago, a teacher said, "Now Johnny, you sit there. Joe, you sit where you were and put your belt on and Clamidiya, you sit behind Joe." She seemed such a nice kid too and for a few seconds it just didn't register, but then.i turned to.the teacher and I said " I'm sorry, what did you call that little girl?". She just said "Yes, you heard right and yes, I've had a little chat with the parents. They thought it sounded like a nice flower or something, so they went with it as a pretty name". I could hardly drive for inwardly laughing. I assure you that is absolutely true. Cheers Jago.
Fascinating visit and report, with many interesting comments. St Pancras has always been my favourite London terminus. I always check out St John Betjeman’s statue there in appreciation of his campaign to save the station from destruction by the vandals of “progress”
Loved the video as usual! I wish you would’ve gone a bit more in depth into how the church name became a station name as that would’ve made it a true tale from the tube.
A former London Borough / District Council named after the Parish, which was fairly densely populated being close to the city, but cheaper to live in - the main Euston Road has swept much of the older buildings away over the years
I don't know if I'd call my son Pancr(e)as but I'd like to call my future son Jerome. There are two famous St. Jeromes - one created the Vulgate, translating the Bible into Latin, and the other was the Christian name taken on by Amakusa Shiro who led the Shimabara Rebellion of Japanese Catholics against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Scholar and soldier, moralist and martyr, Jerome seems to cover a lot of bases.
St. Pancras by looking outside including the hotel is like a medieval castle but actually it’s a really nice place to come and visit. I have been to St. Pancras International station and I like how it’s laid out with shops below and trains above. And with East Midlands Railway trains on the left and Eurostar and Southeastern Highspeed trains on the right that have different entrances and exits to reduce confusion and to help reduce congestion. Since Eurostar moved from London Waterloo in 2007. And the former Waterloo International Eurostar terminal is now used for South Western Railway trains operating to Windsor & Eton Riverside and Reading and to reduce congestion in and out of London Waterloo station.
The trains are up above ground level because immediately north of the station is the Regent's Canal. Arriving in London first, the Great Northern Railway next door at King's Cross tunnelled underneath it and ended up with a steep climb out of the station from a standing start and slippery rails. So, learning from this mistake, the Midland Railway built its approach over the canal which resulted in the platforms at St Pancras being 20 feet above Euston Road. That space underneath was used to store beer brewed in Burton on Trent and the spacing of the cast iron pillars holding up the floor was calculated to allow the most efficient packing of the casks in the available space.
Yes... but it means that if you are travelling on Eurostar you have to wait in a subterranean cavern until your train is ready to depart, so you never have the chance to take in the glory of the station itself.
That was very informative, and I admire the deftness with which you negotiated the contentious topic (contentious on RUclips, anyway) of Early Christian History.
I believe there was an ancient song about his activities: 🎵 My baby does the Hancras Pancras🎵 Joke aside, I've been through the mainline station and it's incredible how elegant it is. I'm glad it didn't come to the same fate as the old Euston station down the street.
All of your videos are informative. I've been to Britain a few times and just never delved into the history of St Pancras. Again, thanks for informing us. How sad to have died so young. 😢
It is so weird to see that video. A few days ago my brother and I cycled on Euston Road and he said to me "Who the hell was St. Pancras. Never heard of that guy and I know most of the saints." I said I didn`t know and of course we forgot to check later on. Then a few days later we see that video and we were literally spooked! And I was born on May 12... Thanks, Jago! I am not naming my child Pancras but my nephew will definitely be called that...
Although this video clearly refers to a London station & the origin of its name, it felt very different from your usual fare (no pun intended !) Jago. But it was most definitely informative as usual ! 😎👍👍
St. Pancras Hotel s also the subject of a beautiful, evocative Victorian painting by John O'Connor. - British Rail were only prevented from demolishing this wonderful building by a strenuous campaign mounted by preservationists.
The adjoining Goods Yard (AKA Somers Town) was less fortunate, in the same Midland Railway Style as St Pancras (and See Market Harborough for a mini-me version), at least the BL building gives an nod of design influence in the brick colour if not complete style.
Spearheaded, I believe, by Sir John Betjeman. There's a delightful bronze sculpture of him upstairs. So much nicer, imo, than the ghastly (again, imo) gigantic sculpture on the ground floor of the couple embracing.
@@aprilsmith1166 Both statues are on the first floor; Sir John may be found gazing at the ceiling close to the champagne bar while the couple are adjacent the buffer-stop end of the Eurostar platforms - where almost none of the passengers using St Pancras ever go.
Many years ago during research into the building of the midland main line & station, i read many local newspaper accounts from the period. One that sticks in my mind is that during the building of the station, the St Pancras burial ground was cleared. This was somewhat controversial. However, apparently a French family asked for their loved one's remains so that they could be reburied.Unfortuneatly, the clearance had begun by this time and it wasn't clear whose they were. the darkest bones were therefore selected, as they were thought to be most likely to be those of foreigners.......
Oh, yeah, I called _all_ my children Pancras. I hope. On the subject of martyrs it's important also to distinguish between St. Pancreas of Duodenum and St. Pancake, who, according to one tradition, was griddled and served with sugar and lemon.
my inner Yorkshireman is obligated to point out that Constantine took the imperial purple in York and with no basis in truth whatsoever, i'll claim that they were actually going to rename Byzantium to New York, but for some definitely-not-time-travel-related reason, they went with Constantinople instead
@@stothsam i think the medieval monks would remember the connection between York and... New York, and would use New York in usual speech though it could also be that Eboracum's name is preserved by association with the Byzantines that, save for Scandinavian languages, we're all going to be talking about Everwick and New Everwick instead of York and New York
The cult of St Pancras was strong among Roman soldiers in the last days of the Empire. Churches with that dedication existed in the vicinity of many legion stations, though not all have survived to today.
Weird1 I was just looking at Google Maps today and noticed St Pancras station. I thought "Who on earth would call their child Pancras?" And hey presto your video explains yet another thing I probably didn't need to know but glad I do. Weird that I was thinking about it today though, I must be telepathetic.
Is the road shown at 5.19 mins into this intriguing video, the same one used in the 1950s film 'The Lady Killers' Ealing comedy as the street leading from the cottage, Jago ??
The Saxon church at Arlington in East Sussex is dedicated to St Pancras. There is a theory that an earlier building on this site may have been one of the early churches dedicated to St Pancras by St Augustine in the 6th century, although there is apparently little evidence for this.
Thanks Jago, another good video. It would be interesting to explore the origins of the other London Termini's (Terminuses?) names. Some are obvious, (London Bridge, Victoria, Waterloo) but who was the King commemorated in Kings Cross?. Why is Liverpool Street a thing when trains to Liverpool go from Euston? And for that matter where does the name Euston come from. Not to mention Paddington and Marylebone.
Pankrác in Prague also houses an infamous prison, site of more than 1000 executions during the Nazi occupation. Colloquially, pankrác is used as synonym for prison.
Thank you for another 'look than listen' video. Just run it twice: first time to appreciate the images, second time to listen to the narrative. Both very worthwhile ! And to think that if things would have gone just a wee bit different some 60 years ago we wouldn't have a St. Pancras station at all today. I shudder to think of what would there be now, an extended and even uglier Euston ?
I wondered when I would find a comment on this. The church and parish gave its name to the local government area, which in turn, was the reason for the station name.
Is that perfect timing or am I the only one watching this on the Feast of St Pancras? The thought that someone brought bits of him to England for whatever reason sounds like he was one of the first imports of meat to the UK from Europe. Oh dear, I must go and prepare breakfast now...
That was most enjoyable! Despite having done a gig at the St Pancras Hotel a few years ago I can honestly say I’d never even thought who he was! Although I note he’s not the only Saint to have hailed from what is now modern day Turkey …. There’s our Saint George & Saint Paul of course 😊
St Pancras Church is closer to Euston too as I found out last week.. 🤣 Had a Just Stop Oil meeting there - Was 2 hours late after asking all St Pancras staff where the hell is your Church... 🤣🤣
I thought you might mention Thomas Hardy who was in charge of clearing the graveyard of Old St Pancras church. The Hardy Tree against which Hardy stacked a number of headstones is still there. New St Pancras is the parish church of Euston.
There is a photo from the 1920s showing the headstones without the tree (which now appears to be dying) so it must have grown up from amongst them. There's no direct evidence to link the placement of the stones to Hardy, although he did work on the construction of the railway.
Most interesting, I’ve often wondered why the station was named this way. There are various villages dotted over France named after him, but you’d be hard pushed to find a Eurostar ticket office in any of them 😂
I don't recall seeing so many puns and jokes (some excruciating) in the myriad of comments to any of your previous videos. Keep up the good work. P.S. The video subject was good as well.
@@JagoHazzard Fabulous. I must admit that I enjoy your work and have done quietly for a long time. But I’ve never left a ‘like’. Not because I don’t think it’s deserved. But because I’m just useless.
I also try to guess your Patreon comment before you say it. “You are the .... to my ....”. I actually guessed the Romford line one and was very pleased with myself 😂.
Can you do one about St. Ockwell? I'm from the wrong side of the ocean, but heard this in passing in a UK group, and unaccountably find it hilarious. I don't know why.
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A central European perspective. St Pancras is one of the three Ice Saints (along with St Boniface and St Servatus). Their feast-days come on 11 May (St Boniface), 12 May (St Pancras) and 13 May (Servatus); a time of spring that often coincides with a cold snap. In Poland, these three saints are known as the Cold Gardeners (zimni ogrodnicy); Austrian, Belgian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, North-Italian, Slovak, Slovene and Swiss folklore also have the same tradition. Climate change has put an end to all this, however; in Warsaw today we had high of 27C. Tomorrow is St Pancras's Day, 24C forecast.
Funnily enough, one of my neighbours was telling me about the 'ice saints'. Local folk won't plant some things until after their feast days.
I currently live in Crediton, allegedly the birthplace of Boniface. Today is his day......but you wouldn't know it from walking around here today!
And after the ice saints came the "sheeps frost" in June - or at least it used to.
But not only global warming. Another reason is the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, when a whole ten days were skipped.
Here in New Zealand, we are waking up to the first cold snap of Autumn (it’s also the 12th) a balmy 2 degrees C, although the high later today will be 14C.
St Pancras station stands on part of the church graveyard. A young Thomas Hardy (he of the novels) was in charge of the excavation of mortal remains so the Midland Railway could build its new terminus. He immortalised the process in a poem, "The Levelled Churchyard". The "Hardy Tree" around which the gravestones were stacked still stands.
Indeed, he was assigned to the project and there’s been talk for some time that the tree will need taking down as it’s dying. The St Pancras (Old) Church itself is a fascinating visit though a Victorian re-build there’s been a site of Christian worship there since the seventh century which probably means it was a pagan shrine of some kind beforehand. The graveyard too has history as a place foreigners would be buried traditionally and there’s a memorial to interred diplomats who died in London, it’s also the site of the resting place of the mother of the (in)famous Wollstonecraft sisters, and Sir John Soan’s tomb there was the model for the renowned domed shape of the M2 and M4 red telephone boxes. Behind it all is the St Pancras mortuary and coroners court. The former being where the Welsh vagrant who became “The Man Who Never Was” ended up after dying, of pneumonia, in the St Pancras Hospital next door - the subject of the current movie Operation Mincemeat (2022).
Possible burial place of William Franklin, son of American founding father Benjamin Franklin. His grave marker probably ended up surrounding the Hardy Tree.
I've often vaguely wondered "Who the heck is St. Pancras?", but could never be arsed to look it up. I'm now going to vaguely wonder why the pancreas is called "all flesh" instead.
I find my good friend Dr. G O Ogle is a handy source of this sort of information LL !! 😎
Apparently, there is no fat at all in the pancreas, hence it is 'all meat'.
@@mickeydodds1 But what about the Isles of Langerhans within the pancreas which produce insulin? 🤔
@@aprilsmith1166 Paul Langerhans was the scientist who discovered them and described what they did.
@@frankmurray1549 I never knew that! Thank you for pointing it out! 👍
I thought that St Pancreas was the God of obscure human organs until I discovered Jago ...
Was going for this, well done!
I have a *gut* feeling that you're right.
I thought he was the patron saint of blood sugar, but yeah ...
Yep. That’s what I always call Saint Pancras!
What, Jago is the God of obscure human organs?! Amazing, I would never have guessed. ;)
There’s an old joke about some American (?) tourists standing outside the station and asking for the times of the services at “that church”, and being handed a railway timetable.
Well as a Canadian I generally always thought this was the truth I still have one of the timetable form 1997 but always been a fastiote by this
Half of your lies are not true
Very informative. St. Pancras' Old Church is the site of a well-known Beatles photography session in 1969. In their two greatest hits albums, _1962/1966_ and _1967/1970_ (known informally as the "Red" and "Blue" albums), the inside photo of them with ordinary people around a railing was taken just to the left of the old church. It's a lovely little park as well on a sunny day.
Great insight 🤩
Even the comments on this channel are informative :)
@@draxil42 +1
St Pancras is one of the most spectacular buildings in London. It’s interesting to imagine just what the real St Pancras would have thought if he could have seen the building which carries his own name. Surely, if he ever saw a building comparable to the station it was only one dedicated to an Emperor or Roman God. I’m sure he’d have been thoroughly surprised.
It really is a gorgeous building. Maybe his preserved head would like to visit to take a look at it. But it's the quite modest church next door that's really dedicated to him. The station is simply named after the area where it's located, as are all railway stations. (Ok, some parkway stations have slightly tenuous names.)
@@johnm2012 your point about the naming is of course true, however I think it’s good enough, it’s more named after him than it is anyone else!
@@johnm2012 To be pedantic, I think there are some exceptions, Victoria is named after a Queen and I believe the area it is in gradually gained the name of the station. Waterloo is named after the famous battle and the area around it is occasionally known by that name.
@@trickygoose2 Actually Waterloo is named after the bridge it is beside. It's the bridge that is named for the battle
It is a brilliant development of a brilliant original design and construction. I used it for a year in BR days pre HST. It was a disgrace, dirty, run down, you could hardly breathe in the train shed for diesel fumes. Perhaps if people were more aware of the vast improvements all over Britain in the last 40 years we might appreciate our Country more.
The number of times I've arrived at St Pancras on a day trip to London and I never questioned who he was - thanks for enlightening us!
Meanwhile, I've never used St. Pancras and think about it constantly.
What a glorious way to further one's dinner - being educated about St. Pancras and his station by that indubitably fine gent Jago Hazzard esq.
You mention Christians being burned by Romans, and this reminds me of the story of Saint Lawrence. One of the Deacons of Rome, he was martyred during the persecutions under Emperor Valerian, bound to a gridiron and burned. The legend says that, before dying, he told his tormentors "Turn me over, this side is done." And thus, Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of chefs and comedians.
Surely also the patron saint of barbecues,too.
@SynchroScore That got a huge LOL from me! Now all I can think of is "...it is but a flesh wound!"
Wow! *rushes off to look up a roman emperor* You can see why I'd be soo excited!
Yes, I was just thinking that when Jago mentioned the burning alive.
As someone who is currently both battling pancreatic cancer and a huge fan of railways, i’m rather glad St Pancras station isn’t called St Pancreas. I’m also greatly impressed by the sacrifice of St Pancras, refusing wealth and being martyred for his faith. We have visited St Pancras old church. As usual an excellent video Jago, thank you.
All the best for your fight 💪
Praying for you 🙏 that your fight is a winning one.
@@PopeLando thank you, you really are very kind
@@hairyairey thank you John, again, very kind
Only just seen this. I hope you are managing. My best friend lived for a ,long time after diagnosis and I hope you do too.
If I had a child, I would name him Pancrazius. He would grow up to be a real saint. Since I have been unable to reproduce, I will keep my unborn child named Jagonius Maximus. He’s an amazing progeny! Carry on!
San Pancracio (his Spanish name) is popular for the job patronage in Spain. It is really usual having a little statue of him at job or home, just to be safe on the business side. I think I mentioned that already, but it was fitting here.
How does that not count as having an idol?
I understand that Pancras is actually quite a common name in Greece. It's only us in monolingual england who thinks it's a weird unheard of name!
Anglicised versions of names appear and take root in England and other nations attain their own-language versions of names that originated somewhere else,though. I learnt yesterday that the Spanish Guillermo = William.
As always, the writing -- and its delivery -- is a pleasure for the ears and intellect.
Very interesting to learn! Curiously there is a tiny town quite near to where I live named St. Pankraz which also gets it's name from the same person, but I always have to think about London and the station when I'm there.
Amongst us trainspotters in the late 1950's it was always referred to as St. Pie-Crust. And I see no reason to change that.
Pie-Crust is a more attractive mental image than Pancreas, so thank you.
I love these history lessons.
Thank you for showing St. Pancras Church.
There are actually two, that one is the Old, the New being a station length's south in Euston Road. The new one is, I think, what you would call neo classical, complete with caryatids, ie human shaped columns.
Minor bit of trivia. Christianity was very much an urban religion. It took a while to reach the sticks. Country folks stayed with the old gods for quite a while. The latin for country dweller is 'pagan'. So that's where we got the idea of non Christians being pagan.
I had often wondered where we got the word pagan from!
To be followed by “who actually is Jago Hazzard”
Patron Saint of Patreon.
@@caw25sha Best answer! :D
JAGO HAZZARD, MAN OF MYSTERY
He is the answer to whom his Patreons are the question. ( * nods sagely * )
Mrs Hazzard's little boy.
Very interesting, thank you! I used to work in the hotel inside the station, very suggestive building
I grew up going to Catholic schools, and another nearby parish and school (that we would compete against in sports, only 2 miles away) is named St. Pancratius. I had assumed they were named after two separate people, but now I know it's one and the same guy. Thanks!
A scant 60 years ago, and mostly likely more, Catholic schools in eastern Massachusetts were obliged to compete in "catholic" leagues. Finding willing public opponents was difficult. During the 50s and 60s a successful eastern Massachusetts school would travel to Florida to face an equally successful team. During my high school time the team that qualified under the rules happened to be my Catholic boys' high school. We were not extended the invitation because the southern sponsors could not accept the prospect of losing to a Catholic team, never mind a northern team. Some of the faculty at our schools had as equally obscure Roman martyrs as their chosen names.
@@ruffian2952 In Southern California the Catholic schools are all in their own leagues (sometimes with a non Catholic private school thrown in). Though at the elementary school level I don't think we had an actual league. For the CIF playoffs however, they do compete against public schools. And they will often face public schools for non league matches.
My old high school is now one of the best in the country in football and they routinely travel every year out of state to play another top school, as well as play a home game or two against an out of state power. They have gone to Florida a few times (along with NV, NJ, OH, OR, UT, and MD all come to mind), and have hosted a couple of Florida teams.
@@comicus01 In Massachusetts an interesting shell game was played in hockey. In an effort to eliminate Catholic schools from their predominance in the state playoffs the state athletic directors initiated a new division called the Elite Eight. The formula for membership was convoluted. Then to the horror of the ADs the Catholic schools soon were the majority of the eight schools. For a portion of one season the Eight were all Catholic schools. The howling by public schools was deafening. We too were driven out of state to find football opponents but they too were Catholic schools. Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island filled our schedules. Now the football playoffs are made part of a teams regular schedule. It is a sort of round robin deal where you can end up playing the same team more than once. Don't ask me. Plays havoc with long standing Thanksgiving rivalries.
Fascinating: well put together video & excellent commentary
That was really interesting. I'm loosing my Eurostar virginity next Tuesday when I travel to Belgium. St Pancras is an amazing station with a statue to its saviour and my favourite poet Sir John Betjeman
St Pancras is SO IMPORTANT, that Ealing studios decided to show it in the classic 1955/6 film The,Lady Killers.
The mock up house at the end of Fredrica Street over the Southern Portal of Copenhagen tunnel had a front door at the end of Argyle Street which is actually off Euston Road and it shows St Pancras Station when Mrs Wilberforce opens the door to the bungling lady killers.
I liked the former boxer in this film - named One Round, a truly descriptive nickname.
@@martinross5521 and wots wrong wiv muscle, it's a democracy, I got a vote too.
Ok I'm wiv you and the major, Mrs Lopsided just got voted in
Danny Green aka Mr Lawson or one round.
He had a butchers shop in Hammersmith.
@@Steven_Rowe thank you, didn’t know about the Hammersmith connection. It’s much more than just a flyover, which I remember being built in 1967 or so
@@martinross5521 I also remember the M4 fly over.
Ironical that the lady killers lair was at the bottom of Fredrica Street, the other end it meets the Caledonian Road and on the opposite side of the Caley is Pentonville prison
No doubt Messrs Lawson and Mr Robinson had done a bit of porridge in the Ville.
@@Steven_Rowe I had some time to spare one day in London and went exploring for the location of filming above the tunnels. I went into a ready mix plant but cycled off before I got a concrete overcoat. There’s been lots of new development where they had the house and the scene is very different. But I like Highgate Cemetery used for Morgan Delt and his mum when they celebrate Karl Marx’s birthday in Morgan - a Suitable Case for Treatment. Deffo the same now!
An opportunity to big up Brendan Kavanagh, another of my favourite RUclipsrs and a brilliant pianist. He often plays the public piano at St Pancras to much acclaim.
ruclips.net/user/BrendanKavanaghDrK
Amazing. Last week it was a video about theories of how a fictitious underground station could have been made in a parallel universe. Today it is real Roman history, theology and etymology. I have to admit this channel is no ordinary anorak railway site. I'm sure that there must be an Open University course for which this video could become part of the course material.
*etymology. Entomology is the study of insects.
@@jaakkomantyjarvi7515 Wait, what? You mean its not the study of tree-like humanoids, who really dislike axes?
@@delurkor That would I believe be entology. Or a similar ology, anyway; there are so many ologies, one tends towards confusology.
@@delurkor I'm afraid not. Nor is an ENT specialist a tree surgeon.
@@jaakkomantyjarvi7515 Yes I know - typo plus auto correct!
I've been wondering about this for a while, thanks for enlightening me.
Good choice of shots and thoughtful camera work illustrating St Pancras station and how it got its name. The only thing you don't mention is that this station narrowly escaped demolition, being saved by the bell at the last minute when it was earmarked as a possible terminus for Channel Tunnel trains! Thanks for uploading.
I always wondered about this. Thanks for enlightening us. Bonus for the alternative meaning of "Pancreas". Very informative video. This is why I love this channel.
One of the most interesting comments sections I have ever laid my eyes on perchance. Many thanks for answering a question even I, sitting at my desk in Hamilton, New Zealand, had reason to wonder about.
Funnily enough there's a Chapel of St. Pancras in what used to be the ancient Guildhall Yard of Exeter. Exeter, or Isca, was the furthest Western extent of the Roman Empire, so that makes sense I suppose.
I'm binging on your excellent material, Mr H. Thank you. Simon T
They were going to demolish this Station in the early 90s, it was Eurostar that saved the day when the high speed line saw it moved from Waterloo Station to St Pancras.
The most beautiful of London's stations, one of the most beautiful anywhere IMHO.
Yes, Saint Pancras and Antwerp Centraal before the construction of lower level tracks which damaged the latter's visual appeal.
@@thomasburke2683 Disagree about Antwerpen. The view upwards from the lowest level platforms, where you can see the modern engineering in contrast to the more ornate decoration is unique.
I think in this case the elegant engineering solution to the problem of adding capacity works very well, both pratically and aethetically.
I do agree that Antwerpen is a wonderful station.
Thank you for the story about St. Pancratius....I don't know him but he is one among the saints in my novena book....I've been searching for this and I finally found it in you...God bless you....
There's a tiny little St Pancras Chaple in the middle of a shopping centre in Exeter. Presumably, because you can....buy ALL THE THINGS. I'll get me coat.....
At the end of the street at 05:21 was where Mrs Wilberforce had her house and parrot and was host to the Lady Killers .( Except that the back garden looked out on Gas Works and Copenhagen Tunnels and the North London line !)
Hello Jago and again, an excellent video and most educational too.
Often wondered where the name of arguably the most incredible railway station in the UK, came from, but to be honest, never got round to doing anything about it.
So thank you most sincerely for that.
No, I probably wouldn't call my child Pancras no.
But on loading a swimming baths bus one day, a couple of years ago, a teacher said, "Now Johnny, you sit there. Joe, you sit where you were and put your belt on and Clamidiya, you sit behind Joe."
She seemed such a nice kid too and for a few seconds it just didn't register, but then.i turned to.the teacher and I said " I'm sorry, what did you call that little girl?".
She just said "Yes, you heard right and yes, I've had a little chat with the parents. They thought it sounded like a nice flower or something, so they went with it as a pretty name".
I could hardly drive for inwardly laughing.
I assure you that is absolutely true.
Cheers Jago.
So how many people's names are called after a fungus of any kind?
@@highpath4776 Hopefully not many. But a male mushroom is quite happy as he's a fun guy.
Fun gi...see what I did there?
Ok,I'll get my coat. Lol
Yersinia sounds like a flower or a girl's name.
@@petermarksteiner7754 I agree. And yet it can cause the plague. Nice.
@@highpath4776 Candida: an influential yeast. There's St Candida Maria and the Blessed Maria Candida.
Fascinating visit and report, with many interesting comments. St Pancras has always been my favourite London terminus. I always check out St John Betjeman’s statue there in appreciation of his campaign to save the station from destruction by the vandals of “progress”
Loved the video as usual! I wish you would’ve gone a bit more in depth into how the church name became a station name as that would’ve made it a true tale from the tube.
A former London Borough / District Council named after the Parish, which was fairly densely populated being close to the city, but cheaper to live in - the main Euston Road has swept much of the older buildings away over the years
@@highpath4776 Gillian Tyndall has the goods in The Fields Beneath - i'm sure you know it
Nice brief look at the view from Mrs Wilberforce's boarding house in the film The Ladykillers at 5:12.
Would you name your Child Pancras ?
.... Jacob Rees Mogg probably would
Given some celebs name offspring based on site of conception, at least there is a decent hotel.
Brilliant !
This episode is ahead of its time. A real stroke of genius. Something to top-off the week.
Its Wednesday, what culture are you in !?
@@highpath4776 Yes and on Thursday this week it will be St Pancras Day 12 May
@@highpath4776 Hump day, hump day, dromedary day!
Very fascinating I find this as someone who loves St Pancras station. :)
Thanks for telling us about him.♥️
Very educational - thank you.
I don't know if I'd call my son Pancr(e)as but I'd like to call my future son Jerome. There are two famous St. Jeromes - one created the Vulgate, translating the Bible into Latin, and the other was the Christian name taken on by Amakusa Shiro who led the Shimabara Rebellion of Japanese Catholics against the Tokugawa Shogunate. Scholar and soldier, moralist and martyr, Jerome seems to cover a lot of bases.
"Bishops were put on trial and executed."
[Anglicans wishing to know more noises intensify]
"Basilica to my head" - that has to be the best one yet!
“His feast would be held on the 12th of May”.
Well, I am watching this on the 12th May while eating cereal.
St. Pancras by looking outside including the hotel is like a medieval castle but actually it’s a really nice place to come and visit. I have been to St. Pancras International station and I like how it’s laid out with shops below and trains above. And with East Midlands Railway trains on the left and Eurostar and Southeastern Highspeed trains on the right that have different entrances and exits to reduce confusion and to help reduce congestion.
Since Eurostar moved from London Waterloo in 2007. And the former Waterloo International Eurostar terminal is now used for South Western Railway trains operating to Windsor & Eton Riverside and Reading and to reduce congestion in and out of London Waterloo station.
The trains are up above ground level because immediately north of the station is the Regent's Canal. Arriving in London first, the Great Northern Railway next door at King's Cross tunnelled underneath it and ended up with a steep climb out of the station from a standing start and slippery rails. So, learning from this mistake, the Midland Railway built its approach over the canal which resulted in the platforms at St Pancras being 20 feet above Euston Road. That space underneath was used to store beer brewed in Burton on Trent and the spacing of the cast iron pillars holding up the floor was calculated to allow the most efficient packing of the casks in the available space.
@@johnm2012 Nice. Thanks for the information 👍
Yes... but it means that if you are travelling on Eurostar you have to wait in a subterranean cavern until your train is ready to depart, so you never have the chance to take in the glory of the station itself.
That was very informative, and I admire the deftness with which you negotiated the contentious topic (contentious on RUclips, anyway) of Early Christian History.
What a marvelous question, I always wondered. Always thought it would make a wonderful kid's name! Thanks
Once again you have suitably educated me!
The view at 5:17 is the view from Mrs Wilberforce's front door in 'The Ladkillers' (even though the house itself was situated above Gasworks tunnel!)
I believe there was an ancient song about his activities:
🎵 My baby does the Hancras Pancras🎵
Joke aside, I've been through the mainline station and it's incredible how elegant it is. I'm glad it didn't come to the same fate as the old Euston station down the street.
Best comment of the week!!!!!
I so agree, it's a beautiful station and I feel it's a good introduction for tourists arriving on the Eurostar.
All of your videos are informative. I've been to Britain a few times and just never delved into the history of St Pancras. Again, thanks for informing us. How sad to have died so young. 😢
Thank you. More stuff that I had wondered about but not known.
It is so weird to see that video. A few days ago my brother and I cycled on Euston Road and he said to me "Who the hell was St. Pancras. Never heard of that guy and I know most of the saints." I said I didn`t know and of course we forgot to check later on. Then a few days later we see that video and we were literally spooked! And I was born on May 12...
Thanks, Jago!
I am not naming my child Pancras but my nephew will definitely be called that...
Although this video clearly refers to a London station & the origin of its name, it felt very different from your usual fare (no pun intended !) Jago. But it was most definitely informative as usual ! 😎👍👍
I think a lot of people like it when Mr Hazzard goes off piste from time to time. I certainly do.
@@rodjones117 That's a great choice of expression Rod ! 👍
St. Pancras Hotel s also the subject of a beautiful, evocative Victorian painting by John O'Connor.
- British Rail were only prevented from demolishing this wonderful building by a strenuous campaign mounted by preservationists.
The adjoining Goods Yard (AKA Somers Town) was less fortunate, in the same Midland Railway Style as St Pancras (and See Market Harborough for a mini-me version), at least the BL building gives an nod of design influence in the brick colour if not complete style.
Spearheaded, I believe, by Sir John Betjeman. There's a delightful bronze sculpture of him upstairs. So much nicer, imo, than the ghastly (again, imo) gigantic sculpture on the ground floor of the couple embracing.
@@aprilsmith1166 Both statues are on the first floor; Sir John may be found gazing at the ceiling close to the champagne bar while the couple are adjacent the buffer-stop end of the Eurostar platforms - where almost none of the passengers using St Pancras ever go.
Those red facing bricks are incredible. They were made at the Mapperley brickworks, Nottingham.
Many years ago during research into the building of the midland main line & station, i read many local newspaper accounts from the period. One that sticks in my mind is that during the building of the station, the St Pancras burial ground was cleared. This was somewhat controversial. However, apparently a French family asked for their loved one's remains so that they could be reburied.Unfortuneatly, the clearance had begun by this time and it wasn't clear whose they were. the darkest bones were therefore selected, as they were thought to be most likely to be those of foreigners.......
Oh, yeah, I called _all_ my children Pancras. I hope.
On the subject of martyrs it's important also to distinguish between St. Pancreas of Duodenum and St. Pancake, who, according to one tradition, was griddled and served with sugar and lemon.
And is strangely worshipped on Saturday morning after a decent sleep in 😅
my inner Yorkshireman is obligated to point out that Constantine took the imperial purple in York
and with no basis in truth whatsoever, i'll claim that they were actually going to rename Byzantium to New York, but for some definitely-not-time-travel-related reason, they went with Constantinople instead
It would have had to be Novum Eboracum.
@@stothsam i think the medieval monks would remember the connection between York and... New York, and would use New York in usual speech
though it could also be that Eboracum's name is preserved by association with the Byzantines that, save for Scandinavian languages, we're all going to be talking about Everwick and New Everwick instead of York and New York
@@stothsam or even the MAGNUS POMUM
Well there are already two New Yorks in England so it would just be confusing.
@@rin_etoware_2989 Ee, By Gum.
Happy Feast of St Pancras. Who knew that the most beautiful station in London would be named after a fourteen year-old boy?
The cult of St Pancras was strong among Roman soldiers in the last days of the Empire. Churches with that dedication existed in the vicinity of many legion stations, though not all have survived to today.
Weird1 I was just looking at Google Maps today and noticed St Pancras station. I thought "Who on earth would call their child Pancras?" And hey presto your video explains yet another thing I probably didn't need to know but glad I do.
Weird that I was thinking about it today though, I must be telepathetic.
Um, "telepathetic" would mean "pathetic at a distance".
Is the road shown at 5.19 mins into this intriguing video, the same one used in the 1950s film 'The Lady Killers' Ealing comedy as the street leading from the cottage, Jago ??
It is !
Another nice cheerful tale from the tube.
The histories of the construction of St. Pancras station also the new St. Pancras church are very interesting.
The Saxon church at Arlington in East Sussex is dedicated to St Pancras. There is a theory that an earlier building on this site may have been one of the early churches dedicated to St Pancras by St Augustine in the 6th century, although there is apparently little evidence for this.
Can you read minds?😂 I was literally JUST asking myself that very question 🙈😅
Did know this Jago. And St Pancras station is arguably the most beautiful
Much nicer than Pankrác station in Prague.
The Pankrac in Prague is also a prison
Thanks Jago, another good video. It would be interesting to explore the origins of the other London Termini's (Terminuses?) names. Some are obvious, (London Bridge, Victoria, Waterloo) but who was the King commemorated in Kings Cross?. Why is Liverpool Street a thing when trains to Liverpool go from Euston? And for that matter where does the name Euston come from. Not to mention Paddington and Marylebone.
I would me more likely to name a child Isambard than Pancras.
Just a thought, if there is an organ in a church of St Pancras is it called a Pancreas?
How about naming your child Isambard Pancras Jago Trickygoose2?
Ironic that St.Pancras was used to "export" christianity to the UK, and the station dedicated to him is now the UK end of the Channel Tunnel
this is some creepy timing, i just saw that exact same picture in a wikipedia article about a neighbourhood in prague named after st pancras
Pankrác in Prague also houses an infamous prison, site of more than 1000 executions during the Nazi occupation. Colloquially, pankrác is used as synonym for prison.
Thank you for another 'look than listen' video. Just run it twice: first time to appreciate the images, second time to listen to the narrative. Both very worthwhile !
And to think that if things would have gone just a wee bit different some 60 years ago we wouldn't have a St. Pancras station at all today. I shudder to think of what would there be now, an extended and even uglier Euston ?
Beautiful! Thanks.
It's been some time since I've been to St. Pancras - nice station 🙂🚂🚂🚂
I was born in the Metropolitan Borough of St.Pancras - in 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Camden.
I wondered when I would find a comment on this. The church and parish gave its name to the local government area, which in turn, was the reason for the station name.
Is that perfect timing or am I the only one watching this on the Feast of St Pancras? The thought that someone brought bits of him to England for whatever reason sounds like he was one of the first imports of meat to the UK from Europe. Oh dear, I must go and prepare breakfast now...
That was most enjoyable! Despite having done a gig at the St Pancras Hotel a few years ago I can honestly say I’d never even thought who he was! Although I note he’s not the only Saint to have hailed from what is now modern day Turkey …. There’s our Saint George & Saint Paul of course 😊
On Thursday we had a sung mass for St Pancras, and his fellow martyrs Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla. Good fun.
St Pancras Church is closer to Euston too as I found out last week.. 🤣
Had a Just Stop Oil meeting there - Was 2 hours late after asking all St Pancras staff where the hell is your Church... 🤣🤣
You have to remember before there was Camden there was the borough of St Pancras. Which must have made council meetings interesting
I thought you might mention Thomas Hardy who was in charge of clearing the graveyard of Old St Pancras church. The Hardy Tree against which Hardy stacked a number of headstones is still there. New St Pancras is the parish church of Euston.
There is a photo from the 1920s showing the headstones without the tree (which now appears to be dying) so it must have grown up from amongst them. There's no direct evidence to link the placement of the stones to Hardy, although he did work on the construction of the railway.
Could you possibly shed some light of St Earnock please. My Mother in law lives on Earnock Street in Glasgow(?).
'Love Among The Ruins' starring Laurence Olivier and Katharine Hepburn was partially filmed in St. Pancras Chambers.
Most interesting, I’ve often wondered why the station was named this way. There are various villages dotted over France named after him, but you’d be hard pushed to find a Eurostar ticket office in any of them 😂
Top marks Jago. So today is St Pancras' day, and I see, the last day for a cold snap in the weather.
I don't recall seeing so many puns and jokes (some excruciating) in the myriad of comments to any of your previous videos. Keep up the good work.
P.S. The video subject was good as well.
Always love your work. Have you ever done a vid on the underground yellow battery trains ?
Not yet, I do have a few shots though.
@@JagoHazzard Fabulous. I must admit that I enjoy your work and have done quietly for a long time. But I’ve never left a ‘like’. Not because I don’t think it’s deserved. But because I’m just useless.
I also try to guess your Patreon comment before you say it. “You are the .... to my ....”. I actually guessed the Romford line one and was very pleased with myself 😂.
At least he knew his station.
Can you do one about St. Ockwell? I'm from the wrong side of the ocean, but heard this in passing in a UK group, and unaccountably find it hilarious. I don't know why.
Pancras might be a weird name but it's nowhere near as strange as naming him "James' Park"
Not to mention Ockwell, or Onebridge Park.
@@steve.b.23 ...or worse still Evenage!
What about the stations named after men of the cloth -- Canon Spark and Parson Sgreen?
Interesting that, unlike St John and St James, there's no controversy about his apostrophe. He doesn't get one, period. :)
Ok, so it's May, 12th over here for like 9 minutes already. What are we supposed to feast on?