Coal Drops Yard is a shopping complex and privately owned public space that forms part of the King's Cross Central development scheme in London, England. The development was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and opened in October 2018 The two Victorian coal drops sheds were used to receive coal from South Yorkshire and trans-ship it to narrowboats on the Regents Canal and to horse-drawn carts; coal drops were redundant and fell into decay. They were used as warehouse units; one was gutted by fire in 1985 and another used by Bagley’s nightclub, which closed in 2007. The night clubs complemented a vibrant night life of easy drug access, raves and prostitution. The Regent's Canal was named in 1820 after the Prince Regent, who became George IV the same year. After his demise, the Kings Cross monument was raised at the junction of New Road and Battlebridge Road (Euston Road and York Way); In 1986 the rave scene started in London. Disused warehouses were used to stage illegal raves, a form of partying fuelled by House music from Chicago and the illicit drug ecstasy. The scene developed and spawned several legal clubs such as The Clink, Shoom and Heaven and by the early-to-mid 1990s became centred on three bars in King's Cross. There was Billy Reilly’s bar, 'Fabric' under the arches of the Coal Offices (which inspired a successor club, also called Fabric), 'The Cross' and 'Bagley’s', which took over three floors at the southern end of the Eastern Coal Drops Argent Group, the overall developer for the King's Cross Central site, appointed Thomas Heatherwick as architect for the redevelopment of the Coal Drop Yards as a retail park in 2014. Heatherwick worked in conjunction with engineers Arup, and the plans were approved in December 2015. BAM Nuttall undertook the construction work, which started in February 2016, following a two-year pre-construction phase to survey the condition of the Victorian era buildings and carry out demolition work as necessary.
