Sir John Betjeman

3D Model

John Betjeman, who helped to save St Pancras station from demolition in the 1960s, has been honoured with a seven-foot high bronze statue on the main concourse of the new station next to the arrival point of the Eurostar. The statue, created by Martin Jennings and commissioned by London and Continental Railways, owes its existence to the daughter of the late poet laureate and the keeper of her father’s flame, Candida Lycett Green.

The larger than life-size statue of Betjeman depicts him walking into the new station for the first time. He is looking up at the great arc of the train shed - which he always did because it took his breath away. He is leaning back and holding onto his hat, his coat tails billowing out behind him, caught by the wind from a passing train. He is carrying a Billingsgate fish basket containing books. There was some discussion about having Archie, Betjeman’s beloved teddy bear, in the fish basket but it was felt that no one would know who he was.