St Pancras Cruising Club is a members’ club based in

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

that exists to promote pleasure cruising on UK inland waterways and to provide facilities for its members and others. Most Club members own boats but the Club also welcomes anyone who is interested in boating and inland waterways. The Club provides non-residential moorings for around 60 boats.

Location and facilities

The Club based at the basin of the same name, next to

Camley Street Natural Park Camley Street Natural Park is an urban nature reserve in St Pancras in central London and within the London Borough of Camden. It is a local nature reserve. The park was closed to the public for reconstruction in December 2017 and reopened in ...

, between

St Pancras Station St Pancras railway station (), officially known since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a major central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is the terminus for Eurostar services from Belgium, F ...

and

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...

, one of the oldest church buildings in London, hence the name of the district. The club, which was founded in 1958, is situated in a

canal basin A canal basin is (particularly in the United Kingdom) an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to al ...

that was used to handle coal. SPCC has a clubhouse with a members bar. It constructed the first new

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

in London for many decades, the only one in Central London. In 2001 the club became the guardian of the St Pancras Waterpoint, a listed

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

originally used to refill the

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s with water. The

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

brick structure, designed by the office of Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

around 1870, was moved a few hundred metres as it was in the way of the St Pancras International station enlargement. The club organises a number of open days during the summer when visitors can visit the water tower.

Activities

SPCC has gained a reputation as one of the country's foremost cruising clubs, based not least on the year-round safe navigations that it conducts and marshals on the

Tideway The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending ...

, the tidal

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. Notable cruises include the 2007 one to the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

protesting DEFRA cuts to the inland waterways budget and the 'Fund Britain's Waterways' campaign cruise to Westminster in May 2024 protesting at proposed cut to waterways funding.. It was also a pivotal organiser in the narrowboat contribution to the

Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of t ...

in 2012. SPCC has always played an active part in waterways events. It is a founder member of the

Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs The Association of Waterways Cruising clubs is a waterway society and umbrella organisation in England, UK. It was founded in the early 1960s by the St Pancras, Dunstable, Uxbridge and Lee and Stort boat clubs as an inter-club scheme for an emerg ...

, The club helps organise events such as the Angel Canal Festival and the

Inland Waterways Association The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom which was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British canals and river navigations. No ...

Canalway Cavalcade at which the boat handling competition novice winner's trophy is named after a former commodore of SPCC, Dr Roger Squires.

References

External links

Club website
{{Coord, 51.53634, N, 0.12820, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TQ298835), display=title Clubs and societies in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Waterways organisations in England

Location and facilities

Activities

See also

References

External links