The old Oysterhouse Lighthouse, Kings Cross

[editor]

I love this old building right by Kings Cross station:






More pics and feature: http://www.urban75.org/london/oyster...ngs-cross.html

[marty21]

it's a great landmark, they are keeping it aren't they? there's a lot of demolition going on there atm

[bluestreak]

You know, I'd never noticed the skyline just there before. Cheers dude!

[ska invita]

Originally Posted by marty21

it's a great landmark, they are keeping it aren't they? there's a lot of demolition going on there atm

Yes, the building is listed - the reason it has been boarded up for so long is that it is a nightmare to redevelop - partly cos the busy junction makes it hard for works traffic to come in, and also becuase of the need to keep the original appearance.

The redvelopment of the area is fascinating, with lots of thorny issues - check out this if you're interested in the area:
http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=226983

[Kenny Vermouth]

Originally Posted by editor

I love this old building right by Kings Cross station:






More pics and feature: http://www.urban75.org/london/oyster...ngs-cross.html

Why does some cunt have to scrawl his name on it?

[poster342002]

Originally Posted by Kenny Vermouth

Why does some cunt have to scrawl his name on it?

Like with most taggers, it was probably the only way for them to remember what it is.

[lights.out.london]

Back in the day - the police used the wee tower to take photos of crack and dealers in the Cross before they busted them.

[poster342002]

On a serious note, I wonder if there was ever any lighthouse equipment in the structure? Maybe way back in the day it could have been some sort of novelty urban lighthouse complete with light?

I also note the interesting speculation that it may have been a known fast-food symbol of it's day (for oysters). Possible, I guess, although I have to wonder why no others of it's kind seem to remain or are known of? Is there any record of these structures having once been commonplace?

A very curious oddity, indeed.

[poster342002]

Another thought occurs - bear with me on this, because at first sight it sounds rather daft ...

Is it at all possible it was a lighthouse for the purpose of guiding boats into harbour?

Stay with me on this! Apparently, there used to be a lot of small shipping water-inlets into central London which would link up with the main rivers and canals leading out to sea. I once heard that the current location of Victoira Station was once home to Victoria Shipping Basin, connecting to the Thames a short distance away in Battersea. Possibly just a myth, I'm not sure. I don't know the person who told me this, anymore.

[maldwyn]

I had heard there was once a similar type thing somewhere in Walthamstow, a spiritual beacon for lost souls, erected by some obscure religious cult.

[Onket]

Originally Posted by Kenny Vermouth

Why does some cunt have to scrawl his name on it?

Because he scaled it?

[davesgcr]

Looking forward to not crossing those death trap roads when the new Thameslink station opens.

Agreed it's a nice landmark building but a f###ing nightmare area for a pedestrian - though much improved in the last few years as a result of crime prevention activities.

Where have the lowlife gone to ....?

[lights.out.london]

I moved to the OKR.

[telbert]

London used to be full of oyster houses about a hundred years ago.The lighthouse on the roof was a beacon(n.p.i.) for those that wanted a cheap munch on the way home from work or the music hall, the same way the golden arches of McDonalds entice workers to a lunchtime dose of cholesterol or the picture of an elephants leg outside a kebab house pursuades drunks to eat shit in a tray at three quid a go.

[ska invita]

The "beacon" is 99% a folly - sorry to dissapoint.

[lang rabbie]

The history seems to be even more confusing...

Originally Posted by Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter - February 2000

To the south east of King's Cross main-line railway station on top of a narrow building, sometimes referred to as the flatiron building (probably with North American examples in mind), stands an architectural folly some people think of as a windmill or lighthouse. It has looked much as it does today since 1884 but its date of building and original purpose are unknown.

A recent excellent article by David Hayes in Camden History Review (Vol 23) attempts to unravel the mystery but comes to no definite conclusions. Apparently GLIAS visited the 'lighthouse' in 1984 but there is no reference to this in the index to the GLIAS newsletter. Does anyone remember taking part? The official view used to be that the 'lighthouse' was an advertising feature intended to promote Netten's oyster bar which was immediately beneath on the ground floor. This is now shown to be unlikely.

Anyone with Camden connection know where you get hold of a copy of the "Camden History Review"


I love the suggestion that it was used as an observation point for Zeppelin raids during World War 1. You can just imagine someone up on the leads with a telescope.

[editor]

Thanks for the updates. I've added info from this thread to the article.

[Sunray]

I never noticed it, noticed the building because its so run down, which is pretty rare in London these days.

[goldenecitrone]

I spent a fair bit of time looking at it last week, having sort of been aware of its existence but never having paid it much attention. It is quite a weird sight so it's nice to find out some information on it. Cheers.

[Cid]

Originally Posted by lang rabbie

The history seems to be even more confusing...



Anyone with Camden connection know where you get hold of a copy of the "Camden History Review"


I love the suggestion that it was used as an observation point for Zeppelin raids during World War 1. You can just imagine someone up on the leads with a telescope.

Archives, like any council...

Originally Posted by Camden Council

Camden local studies and archives centre
Contact:
Richard Knight
Local Studies and Archives Manager
Holborn Library
32-38 Theobalds Road
London
WC1X 8PA
Phone: 020-7974 6342
Fax: 020-7974 6284
Online: send camden local studies and archives centre your enquiry
Website: www.camden.gov.uk/localstudies
Times: Mon, Thu 10.00-19.00; Tue, Fri 10.00-18.00; Sat 10.00-13.00, 14.00-17.00. Wed closed.
Parent Body: Camden Council Culture and Environment Directorate Library Service.
Last checked:April 2007

CLOSED FROM MON 3 DECEMBER TO SAT 8 DECEMBER 2007, RE-OPENING ON MON 10 DECEMBER. Books, periodicals, newspapers, maps, illustrations, archives and other items about the Borough past and present, and family history. Parish vestry and Council records 17th to 20th centuries, including valuation lists until 1989. Archives of local organisations and individuals, including Highgate Cemetery registers. Appointments needed to use some archives. The centre is normally closed the first week in December each year.

[poster342002]

Originally Posted by telbert

London used to be full of oyster houses about a hundred years ago.The lighthouse on the roof was a beacon(n.p.i.) for those that wanted a cheap munch on the way home from work or the music hall

So how come there aren't any more of them left? It's really odd that there should only be one left standing and that they have faded from the collective popular memory so relatively quickly.

[lang rabbie]

Originally Posted by poster342002

So how come there aren't any more of them left? It's really odd that there should only be one left standing and that they have faded from the collective popular memory so relatively quickly.

We had this discussion on a previous London thread - a spate of poisonings due to sewage pollution of oyster beds around the turn of the twentieth century didn't help IIRC.

Oddly enough, I did a quick search through the John Gay photographs of Kings Cross and St Pancras (mostly taken to illustrate Betjeman's book on London's Historic Railway Stations) on the National Monuments Record Viewfinder picture database site to see if they included any photos of the Lighthouse building. I drew a blank, but the collection includes some 1950s photos of working-class holidaymakers in Blackpool still visiting an oyster stall at that late date.

[Sir Belchalot]

There's one in Markhouse Rd in Walthamstow, nothing to do with oysters though:

http://www.musicland26.freeserve.co....thamstow.htm#4

[poster342002]

Hmmm... maybe there was (or was going to be, but never was in the end) a Methodist Church in Kings Cross?

I still wonder, if it was a symbol for oysterhouses, how come the Kings Cross one is the only surviving example of it's kind? Surely there'd be at least one or two still left around here and there? Or clear records of them, at the very least?

[editor]

Originally Posted by Sir Belchalot

There's one in Markhouse Rd in Walthamstow, nothing to do with oysters though:

http://www.musicland26.freeserve.co....thamstow.htm#4

Cool building!

I'm adding all this info to the article - thanks for helping make it the #1 resource on the building!