Camden has an industrial heritage rich in features associated with the 19th century and the arrival of the canal and railway. The Regent’s Canal, which opened as far as Hampstead Road Lock in 1816, and the London & Birmingham Railway – the first main line into London – which opened in 1837, created a major goods interchange at Camden. Industries and workshops migrated to the area and expanded, turning Camden into an important industrial centre.

The arrival of the Great Northern Railway at King’s Cross little more than a decade later forged new connections between Camden and the industrial heartlands of the Midlands and North. It was followed by the Midland Railway from the late 1850s, which developed first goods stations and then St Pancras passenger station over the decade to 1868.

Continuous development of railways in the borough since the 1830s has left a greater range of significant railway heritage than any other area of London.

The Trust’s aims are concerned with the past, present and future of the area’s heritage:

• to educate the public about the social and industrial history of the area (the past)
• to preserve and protect sites and introduce people to them (the present)
• to restore and open up sites to enable public appreciation of their purpose (the future)