Die Turnhalle, as it was first known, was designed by Edward Gruning and built for the German Gymnastic Society in Old St Pancras Road (now Pancras Road). Opened in 1865, it was the first purpose-built public gymnasium in the country (CLSAC) and the first to hold exercise classes for women. From the beginning the membership was extremely diverse and within a decade half its members were English.
Not only did the Turnhalle have a central role in the life of the local community but it also played an important role in the development of leisure in Britain. Ernest Ravenstein, one of the directors of the German Gymnastics Society, was responsible for organising the National Olympian Games in London in 1866, a regional precursor to the Games we see today. The indoor events at the Games were held at the new German Gymnasium, while the outdoor events were held on the River Thames and at Crystal Palace. Both the Amateur Gymnastics Association and the Amateur Swimming Association were founded on site.
The Games were a major success, attracting over 10,000 spectators. Indoor events continued annually until the White City Olympic Games in 1908. The German Gymnasium was leased to the GNR from that date and. purchased by the GNR in 1916. Converted into offices, it suffered damage in an air raid in July 1917. It continued as a railway building for most of the period up to its recent restoration.
The German Gymnasium is now restored and re-purposed as a restaurant with a generous area of outside seating. Inside there is a large ground-floor bar and dining area, at the foot of the two sweeping staircases that lead up to the main dining area occupying part of the gallery that formerly extended around the building, now lined with tables à deux and banquettes. The timber ribs that support the roof, composed of twelve laminated layers of timber bolted together, remain exposed. This was the roof form initially used by Lewis Cubitt for the King’s Cross train sheds. There are hooks in the beams to which climbing ropes were once attached for gymnastics.
As part of the conversion, tie bars have been inserted at each timber rib to restrict any movement of the external wall under the new loading.
