The Cubitt brothers (Lewis, Thomas and William) were all involved

in various aspect of civil engineering with William going on to be the Lord Mayor of London for two concurrent terms from 1860 to 1862. The superb brick frontage of King's Cross was designed by the youngest of the bothers, Lewis, who did a lot of work for the Great Northern Railway under its resident engineer George Turnbill. The station opened in October 1852 but over the years it became a little lost as it became surrounded by more modern developments. Indeed, under BR in the early 1970s a large single story extension was added with most of the now paved area in the foreground covered. Whilst the thirty five-metre tall clock tower remained the whole area was a bit of an architectural mess. The recent and massive redevelopment of the station has once again revealed the grandeur of the frontage in its full glory; let's hope that it stays this way for many years to come