With the bustling Mornington Crescent and Camden to its north and St. Pancras and Euston stations to its south, this area sits in an in-between zone known as Somers Town. Like Camden, the area is predominantly residential, and, having also been badly damaged during The Blitz, the housing is a visually similar mish-mash of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian terraces split mostly into flats, and numerous post-war council blocks. Unlike Camden, however, it is not overcrowded with tourists or run through by a number of noisy main roads. Despite this, the area is far from inaccessible, in fact it couldn’t be better connected - countless bus routes pass down Eversholt Street, and Mornington Crescent, Euston and King’s Cross stations are all within walking distance. Somers Town possesses a high number of decent schools, and its position to the north of Euston Road makes the housing prices significantly lower than those to its south in Bloomsbury. This, combined with the surprising amount of open green space in the form of Oakley Square Gardens, Brill Place and Goldington Crescent, makes the area a hit with families and kids.

With origins dating back to the Norman Conquest, and parts of it even showing Roman heritage, it is believed that St Pancras Old Church was one of the first Christian sites of pilgrimage in England. However, it fell out of favour some time around 1400, leaving the area almost entirely rural and undeveloped up until the mid 1750s when the New Road (now Euston Road) was established to bypass the congestion of Central London. Sitting directly to the north of the road, Somers Town was quickly developed, becoming popular with middle-class people fleeing the French Revolution.

Later on, the area transformed socially as the surrounding lands were sold off to build cheaper housing, especially after the railways were introduced in the 1830s. By the late 19th century, overcrowding was severe, compounded by the demolition of multiple residential streets to accommodate the large hotels which would serve the burgeoning tourism industry arriving to St Pancras and Euston Stations. The poor conditions began to improve in the early 20th century, with the construction of social housing, however much of these improvements were scuppered by the German bombing campaigns during the Second World War. Since the war there has been a gradual improvement of what was a slum and Red Light District, into the thriving, family friendly area of Somers Town today.

You know you’re in a place of learning when the local library is the British Library. Containing over 174,000,000 items, the library is home to texts dating back over 2000 years. These include two Gutenberg Bibles, the sole surviving manuscript of Beowulf, Anne Boleyn’s personal bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio from 1623, and many more priceless treasures.

Given that Euston Road is one of the country’s busiest, Somers Town, like many of the highway’s surrounding areas, is badly affected by noise and pollution. However, as one local resident pointed out to us, the traffic in the area is actually very light, particularly when compared to Camden in the north. While there can be problems with the pollution levels to the south of the area, they said that there are plenty of parks to get a bit of fresh air away from the noise.

Given its location amongst some of the most stimulated areas of development in London such as King’s Cross and Euston, Somers Town is evolving and changing at an incredible pace. Euston Station is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation to allow it to accommodate the new HS2 railway which is set to be completed between 2029 and 2033. This railway is predicted to lower crowding at the station and bring new residential, business, and public spaces to the neighbourhood. In order to counteract the inconveniences and certain detrimental effects of the HS2 development on the area, particularly on those living in council accommodation near the station, Camden Council is also working on a number of initiatives such as new community spaces and public amenities, and 116 replacement homes of varying tenure. The Council has also been able to make HS2 Ltd. fund a series of initiatives aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of the development, including funds for the replacement of lost trees (almost 500 trees), insulation packages provided to 1300 households to insulate from increased noise pollution and the development of open spaces to compensate for those lost.