Step into The Barrel Vault, a pub nestled right inside the buzzing heart of St Pancras International Station in London. This isn’t just any pub, it’s a portal back to the 19th century when barrels of beer flowed in and out of the station, fueling the lives of Londoners. We’re standing where the grandeur of a railway station met the warmth and camaraderie of a good pub. Imagine hundreds of barrels of Burton Beer, a local favourite, arriving to be stored beneath the magnificent station. It’s hard to fathom the scale of the operation.
This pub, named after those very barrels, is a tribute to the history of St Pancras. The name speaks to the station’s original design, a marvel of engineering in its time. It was the largest space in the world covered by a single roof. The station was built in 1868 by William Barlow and became renowned for its stunning entrance to London. Barlow placed the train tracks on a raised platform, supported by 688 cast iron columns and creating a vast space below.
This vast space was a beer haven. It’s said that over 200,000 barrels of beer arrived in St Pancras Station annually just from the Bass brewery in the 1870s. You can almost picture the bustle around here, with the clatter of trains and the clinking of glasses, a symphony of London life. The Barrel Vault pays homage to this era with its charming rustic décor, with some decorative wooden casks adorning the roof rafters.
So, as you raise a glass in this bustling pub, remember that you’re standing on hallowed ground, where the thirst of a city was quenched and the history of London was brewed. The Barrel Vault is more than just a pub, it’s a time machine that transports you back to an era of steam trains, barrels of beer, and the spirit of London’s most iconic station.