Euston Arch rebuild efforts move forward

Last week historian and trustee of the Euston Arch Trust, Dan Cruickshank, opened the exhibition in Euston Square Gardens which shows some of the huge blocks of Yorkshire grit which made up the arch and were recovered from the River Lea after being discovered there in 1994 by Cruikshank.

The arch – a neo classical monument to the railway age designed by architect Philip Hardwick and built in 1837 – was notoriously demolished in the early 1960s.

Engineer and fellow trustee Alan Baxter said: ‘The line from Euston to Birmingham was the first long-distance railway line in the world – it was a colossal achievement. We are now coming into a second railway age; there are twice as many people travelling by train as there were 20 years ago and we’re investing billions in the railways. The arch is the great signpost to Euston.

‘We’ve got 20 or 30 stones and we want to rebuild the Euston Arch at Euston to correct the terrible wrong which took place 50 years ago. It’s not rubble – the stone is in superb condition.’

Baxter said the trust estimated it would need to raise around £10 million to pay for the rebuilding effort but added this was not the main obstacle.

He said: ‘The uncertainty around HS2 is the problem so we’re waiting for the dust to settle.’