Tracking the Heritage

Camden Town began as rolling fields, transformed into a bustling transport hub then evolved into a cultural epicentre.

We’re telling its story, click here to share your part in it.

The Camden Highline

The Camden Highline is a registered charity which will transform the disused railway viaduct between Camden Town and King’s Cross into a new green artery for London. One of the aims of the Camden Highline is to reveal, explain and celebrate the heritage of its surroundings. Find out more here.

The Area

The area around the Camden Highline has a rich industrial and transport heritage. It’s the intersection of three main rail lines, Regent’s Canal, and the North London Railway to London’s docks. New models of freight distribution, and the Clean Air Act meant these sectors underwent a rapid decline in the 1950s.

The vacant industrial spaces went on to serve as low-cost space for small businesses, which evolved into today’s Camden Market and King’s Cross estate. This means that many significant heritage assets have survived the transformation of the area, but their form, function and surroundings have changed dramatically.

The process

Tracking the Heritage emerged from the thousands of local people we’ve taken on walking tours of the Highline route. Many said that it was the first time they had really stopped to admire the physical heritage surrounding them; we want to provide this feeling to the millions of people who visit, work, study or live in Camden.

There’s a huge amount of fantastic heritage resources out there; an overwhelming amount really. To deal with this we’ve enlisted the help of nine young people from the local area. These Heritage Trainees will work with experts to collect, collate and distil these resources. Their work will be showcased in a permanent exhibition, on this website, and through school workshops and heritage walking tours.

The Heritage Trainees are hard at work, sign up for updates at the bottom of this page to get the latest from them. We also want to hear your stories, please get in touch here.