Euston: Busy and businessy but with hidden gems and good value zone 1 property

Trains at Euston (Image: Archant)

Local Authority

Euston is in the London Borough of Camden and has the NW1 postcode. It is in the Holborn & St Pancras parliamentary constituency. Council tax ranges from £891.32 for Band A properties to £2,673.62 for Band H homes. Properties in the average Band D will receive a bill of £1,336.81.

Property

Asking prices for a two-bedroom flat near Mornington Crescent station range from £590,000 to £1,110,000, and for a terraced home it’s between £1,350,000 and £3,500,000.

Albert Street, NW1 (Image: Archant)

Property mainly falls into three categories: Georgian and Victorian terraces, ex-local flats, and new-build. New developments include Plender Street Apartments and Euston Reach. Be aware of the ongoing wranglings over HS2 – these continue to affect property sales in the area.

Education

Richard Cobden Primary School on Camden Street and St Mary and St Pancras Church of England Primary School have both been given an Outstanding rating by Ofsted. St Aloysius Roman Catholic Junior School is rated Good, as is Argyle Primary School just on the other side of Euston Road. For secondary schools, Maria Fidelis Roman Catholic Convent School is a mixed-gender school also rated Good.

Transport

Euston is in zone 1 and is served by the Northern and Victoria lines on the London Underground. Euston Square station is a five-minute walk away and is on the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines. Commuter trains run from Euston to Watford.

Euston Station (Image: Archant)

Euston is also a mainline station connecting with Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and other stations in the north west of England and Scotland. Trains from Euston also run to Holyhead to connect with the boat to Dublin. The area is served by numerous buses connecting it to regions across London.

Landmarks and history

In 1830, the major opposition faced by engineers from the London and Birmingham Railway to putting their new terminus at what is now Euston station was from farmers who worked on the farmland covering the area. The developers won out, and in 1837, Euston was opened as the UK’s first intercity railway station.

There is a statue in the station to Richard Flinders, the 19th-century navigator who first charted Australia and is believed to have given it its name. It is thought that he is buried under platform 15 of the station – it was formerly the cemetery of St James’s, Hampstead Road, which was demolished in the 1950s.

Camden Town Group artist Walter Sickert lived around Mornington Crescent and set many of his early 19th century works here (Image: Archant)

One of the Camden Town painters Walter Sickert lived in the area in the early 20th century and painted disturbing scenes taking place inside Mornington Crescent dwellings.

The mysterious Magic Circle Headquarters are also here. Behind the distinctive sign denoting the entrance to the Centre for Magic Arts lies a floating staircase, a theatre, a members’ club room and a museum. The magic remains a closely guarded secret, although there is a public events programme and live magic shows that run throughout the year.

The Magic Circle, Stephenson Way (Image: Archant)

Shopping

Award-winning saxophone specialist Saxwindbrass is a shop with practice rooms on the premises. It also holds regular music events while charity initiative Camden Collective offers free co-working spaces and courses for local creative entrepreneurs.

Saxwindbrass (Image: Archant)

Flying Dutchman (Image: Archant)

New bike shop The Flying Dutchman on Eversholt Street sells high quality, low maintenance city, cargo and electric bikes, all handmade in the Netherlands and customisable in their workshop.

Eating and drinking

Local office workers frequent the area’s many chain sandwich shops and cafes but there are some independent options remaining.

New Regent’s Place foodie destination The Refinery is a deli, bar and restaurant rolled in to one. Their all day drinking and eating menus focus on quality British food and creative cocktails. Nearby independent coffee shop Beany Greens serves wraps, salads, fresh juices and their famous banana bread in a laidback Antipodean atmosphere.

The Refinery, Regent's Place (Image: Archant)

Beany Greens, Regent's Place (Image: Archant)

Drummond Street has several Indian restaurants, serving cheap, predominantly vegetarian food – dosas and buffets are the order of the day and Ravi Shankar is a local institution.

Ravi Shankar, Drummond Street (Image: Archant)

The Euston Tap and Cider Tap are in the gatehouses on the station forecourt, one of the few surviving features from the original station. These tiny bars serve an extensive selection of craft brews for train travellers and commuters. The Pack and Carriage Pub on Eversholt Street runs its popular #MidweekMadness Wednesday’s, where cocktails are £4 and you can get a burger, chips and a drink for just £10.

Sport, leisure and culture

Just across Euston Road the Wellcome Collection has a fascinating permanent collection of medical artefacts collected by Henry Wellcome, alongside excellent temporary exhibitions covering a range of topics at the intersection of art and science all free to visit. The current exhibition States of Mind explores our understanding of the conscious experience from different perspectives.

The Wellcome Collection (Image: Archant)

Camden People's Theatre (Image: Archant)

The Camden People’s Theatre on Hampstead Road is dedicated to early career artists. It’s an initiation into the weird, wonderful and experimental and a breath of fresh air in a zone of offices and transport links. Also well-regarded is the more recently opened New Diorama Theatre, an 80-seat space, focussed on supporting emerging talent.

Good for kids

St James's Gardens (Image: Archant)

St James’ and Oakley Square gardens both offer a slice of green space to let little ones loose on while Regent’s Place day nursery and preschool, kidsunlimited, offers more structured activities in the form of dance and yoga lessons. The British Library has recently launched its new family programme, designed to help children engage with the collections and exhibitions through creative activities. Monthly family workshops, printable trails and exhibition entry for under-18s are all free.