Revolution to Rebellion
A history of King's Cross
Throughout each era in its long history, King’s Cross has been marked by revolution and rebellion. As a site where battles were fought, new ideas sparked and scandal reigned supreme.
The area itself was shaped by the people who made it their own. Visionaires, innovators and icons; artists, outcasts and fashionistas; the captains of industry and the down-on-their-luck all rubbed shoulders in this small corner of the capital.
Every square inch has a story to tell, if you only know where to look.
We saw an opportunity to celebrate the area’s heritage – the good, bad and ugly – by highlighting the treasure in “the dust heap”, and the extraordinary everyday stories that can be found all around us.
To give a sense of the depth and breadth of King’s Cross’ history, the exhibition was centred around a physical historical timeline that ran from an alleged battle between Boudicca and the Romans in 60 AD, all the way to last orders at the infamous nightclub, Bagley’s, in the 90s.
We commissioned illustrations to bring prominent historical figures to life, alongside an soundscape which harnessed the rich variety of sounds that would have been heard across King’s Cross throughout the centuries. From the clash of swords, to horse’s hooves and the heaving mass of crowds at an illegal rave, the immersive soundscape allowed visitors to experience the story with multiple senses.
Process
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Revolution first took hold of King’s Cross nearly two thousand years ago. According to local folklore, Queen Boudicca and her army of rampaging Iceni tribesmen fought the Roman legions on this site in AD 60 or 61, during the final and most brutal British uprising against Roman rule.
There’s no evidence for this tale, however Boudicca continues to be a figure of much fascination in the area, and urban legend holds that the warrior queen is buried under platform 9 or 10 of King’s Cross station.
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Portion of gravestone of a soldier found in 1842 near Battle Bridge, King’s Cross
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There were even plans to build an early form of human-powered suspension railway for visitors to get about the gardens – some twenty years before King’s Cross Railway station was built. The ambitious project opened on 4th March 1830 but struggled to get off the ground, eventually going bankrupt and closing in 1832.
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Railway mania hit Britain in the 1840s, reaching its frenzied peak in 1846 when 272 Acts of Parliament were passed in a single year, with a view to incorporating new railroad companies. This period of intense speculation saw the price of railway shares increase rapidly as people invested more and more money in the revolutionary industry – until it inevitably collapsed. Many families had invested their life savings and lost everything. Among those affected were Charles Darwin, the Brontë sisters, Benjamin Disraeli and Charles Babbage.
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There was phone box at a petrol station on a nearby corner. Ravers used to congregate there, waiting for a phone call which would give them directions to a secret location where an illegal rave was being held. “That was the starting point for everyone in London.”
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Flyers played a key role in the UK rave scene. They promoted illegal raves and gave cryptic directions to secret locations; they could be put directly into the hands of the ravers, while avoiding the police. “Paper ones, plastic ones, fabric ones, laminated or even edible ones on the odd occasion…of every shape, style and genre you could think of.”
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That summer, close to 50,000 people marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square to fight for their right to rave: bright, passionate and united by an overwhelming desire to keep the dream alive. However they were met with a heavy police presence and the demonstration turned violent, with many protesters injured amid accusations of police brutality.
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Judge Jules at Bagleys Nightclub King’s Cross, 1996
