Gillow and the furnishing of the Midland Grand Hotel, London.

Rising dramatically on Euston Road between the new British Library and the austere King's Cross railway terminus is one of the most striking examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture in London, the Midland Grand Hotel. It was built to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1868 and 1874 to front Saint Pancras Station, the London terminus of the Midland Railway (see Pl. V). (1)

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Rail travel revolutionized life in nineteenth-century Britain, becoming the predominant form of transport for passengers and industrial and agricultural goods. As testaments to the importance of this industry, railway termini were modeled on cathedrals and palaces in a range of revival styles--a tangible expression of the intercompany rivalry that had emerged among the different lines. (2) Building News wrote:

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Railway station architecture is constantly making spasmodic efforts to 
force itself upon public notice ... every style has been tried to 
captivate and draw the attention of the travelling public, from Egyptian 
and Greek to Gothic. (3) 

Meeting on May 3, 1865, the directors of the Midland Railway proposed that a competition be held for the design of a hotel to be built adjacent to Saint Pancras Station. (4) Scott was declared the winner (5) with a proposal for a monumental Gothic structure in red brick with terracotta and buff stone that far exceeded the requirements originally specified. (6) With a total frontage of about six hundred feet, ornamented with stepped gables, pointed arches, and turrets, the facade evoked the splendors of a thirteenth-century French Gothic church and incited many comparisons of railway architecture to cathedral naves in the use of arched ceilings and vaulted supports. (7) This otherworldly quality is captured in John O'Connor's ethereal painting shown in Plate VII.