The clock above the concourse

Few public clocks have a setting as dramatic as St Pancras. High at the south end of William Barlow’s train shed, the great dial turns precise railway time into part of the station’s architecture.

The clock seen today was installed for the reopening of St Pancras International in November 2007. Its approximately 18-foot dial, Roman numerals and slate hour markers recall the presence of the original Victorian clock while serving a modern international station.

The present clock above the Grand Terrace at St Pancras International — The present clock at the south end of the Barlow train shed.

St Pancras clock quick facts

Station opened: 1 October 1868
Original clockmaker: John Walker of Cornhill
Original dial: 16 ft 9 in 5.15 metres
Original material: Slate dial
Original removed: Late 1960s
Present clock installed: November 2007
Present dial: Approx. 18 ft 5.5 metres
Recorded makers, 2007: Dent with Smith of Derby

The history

Three clocks, one commanding position

Historic view of the original St Pancras station clock

The Victorian original

The Midland Railway adopted London-based Railway Time across its stations in 1846. When St Pancras opened in 1868, its monumental platform clock therefore represented far more than decoration: it made the timetable visible across one of Britain’s great railway interiors.

Contemporary measurements put the original slate dial at 16 feet 9 inches across. The station operator’s published history attributes all the original St Pancras clocks to John Walker of Cornhill, London. The 1868 platform clock was not made by Dent.

Historic material relating to Roland Hoggard and the rescued clock

Broken, bought and rebuilt

During modernisation in the late 1960s, the original clock was lowered, dropped and broken into pieces. Midland railway guard and clock collector Roland Hoggard bought the fragments for £25 and transported them to his farm at Thurgarton in Nottinghamshire.

There he patiently reconstructed a working clock on the end of his barn. That rescue preserved the form of the lost dial: British Rail later used it as a reference for a glass-reinforced-plastic replacement at the station, and the surviving material informed the clock created for the twenty-first-century restoration.

Detail of the Roman numerals and slate markers on the present station clock

The clock seen today

For the reopening of St Pancras International in 2007, a new clock was made for the historic position at the south end of the train shed. The station operator records it as made by Dent with Smith of Derby.

Metal plate, slate diamond-shaped hour markers and Roman numerals give the present clock a character sympathetic to the Victorian original. Behind that historic appearance is a modern timekeeping system suited to a working international terminus.

Gold Dent London St. Pancras watch with brown leather strap on a white background

1/4

Dent St. Pancras

£35,999.00

Taxes included.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the St. Pancras Clock

Who built the St. Pancras Station clock?

The original St. Pancras Station clock was built in 1868 by Edward John Dent’s firm, the same makers of Big Ben. It was designed to be read across the massive Barlow train shed, showcasing Dent’s reputation for precision and scale.

What happened to the original St. Pancras clock?

In the 1970s, British Rail removed the original Dent clock during station alterations. It was saved from destruction by railway worker Roland Hoggard, who installed it in his Nottingham garden. Years later, it was accidentally smashed by a football.

Who was Roland Hoggard?

Roland Hoggard was a British Rail worker who rescued the original Dent clock from St. Pancras. He transported it to his garden, where it stood for years until damaged. Fragments of the clock later helped Dent recreate the restored clock in 2007.

When was the St. Pancras clock restored?

In 2007, as part of the station’s restoration, Dent London recreated the clock using original drawings and fragments preserved by Roland Hoggard. The new clock now hangs proudly above the concourse.