St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England. The church is situated on Pancras Road in the London Borough of Camden, with the surrounding area and its international railway station taking its name. St Pancras Old Church, which was largely rebuilt in the Victorian era, should not be confused with St Pancras New Church (1819–1822) about away, on Euston Road. History Parish Originally, the parish of St Pancras stretched from close to Oxford Street almost to Highgate. In the early Middle Ages there was a centre of population in the vicinity of what is now known as the old church. However, in the 14th century the population abandoned the site and moved to what is now Kentish Town. The reasons for this were probably the vulnerability of the plain around the church to flooding (the River Fleet, which is now underground, runs through it) and the availability of better wells at Kentish Town, where there is less clay in the soil. The church subsequently fell into disrepair. Towards the end of the 18th century, services were only held in the church on one Sunday each month; on other weeks, the same congregation would use a chapel in Kentish Town. 18th and early 19th century urban expansion led to the construction of the capacious St Pancras New Church on what was then the "New Road" (Euston Road, about a km away). The old building lost its status as the parish church when the New Church was consecrated in 1822, and became a chapel of ease. Richard Granger is named as parson of the church of St Pancras, in 1446. Early history Evidence for the early history of the church is scanty. It is considered by some to have existed since AD 314, although there is no archaeological or documentary evidence to support this. The claim is discussed below under Legendary origins. Phil Emery and Pat Miller discuss the issue in 'Archaeological findings at the site of the St Pancras Burial Ground and its vicinity'. The 1847 reconstruction of the medieval church revealed Roman tiles in the fabric of its tower and an inscribed altar stone dated to AD 625, which might suggest an early 7th-century foundation. The