Description

CAMDEN

TQ3083NW YORK WAY
798-1/79/1738 (North side)
27/07/83 Eastern coal drops at King's Cross
Goods Yard

GV II

Coal drops. 1851-2. Probably by Lewis Cubitt. Late C19
southern section converted into a warehouse. Northern, coal
handling bays, damaged by fire, 1985. Multi-coloured stock
brick supported externally and internally by a framework of
cast-iron columns and beams in each bay. Slated hipped roof.
EXTERIOR: oblong plan; 2 storeys and mezzanine. South
elevation with single storey extension above which main
building with 4 lunettes, recessed oblong panels below and
brick pilasters supporting iron gable end.
Eastern elevation with segmental-headed ground floor openings
(cart loading bays), brickwork of arches extended and linking
to give impression of arcading with inset cast-iron Tuscan
columns. Metal framed windows with small panes. Occasional
flat circular pattern in brickwork of spandrels. Mezzanine
floor with half length segmental-arched windows and brick
cornice, breaking at the window heads. 2nd floor (railway
level), shallow brick arcading blind apart from lunettes in
arch heads; recessed oblong panels at the base of each arch.
Western elevation with similar arcading and remains of railway
line on round-arched viaduct at top floor level.
INTERIOR: has massive timber framing to support railway at
upper level and storage hoppers at mezzanine. Open composite
truss roof with timber tie-beams, rafters, collars and struts
and single iron rods from the apex; also queen posts of
wrought-iron. Wrought-iron plates at joints and cast-iron
brackets where principal rafters are formed of two timbers
joined at collar height.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the coal drops were built as part of a system
of distributing coal from the north-east and Yorkshire to the
London market. Originally the structure carried 4 high-level
railway tracks from which waggons discharged coal into storage
bins on the mezzanine floor above cart-loading bays. A waggon
traverser was provided at the southern end by which empty
waggons were transferred to a wooden viaduct west of the coal
drops. Approach by road is at a lower level.

Listing NGR: TQ3005483550

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q27086622

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)