Kings Cross station at night. From Platform 5 looking across to Platform 8. The whole of the Kings Cross area used to be known as Battles Bridge and is reputedly the site where the Iceni warrior queen Boudicca was finally defeated by the Romans in AD 61. The Iceni were a celtic tribe that lived in south-west Norfolk and rebelled against Roman rule, almost driving the invaders from Britain (until the counter-attack by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus). Eighty thousand celtic Britons fell in this battle, and the site became an enormous graveyard. In Victorian times the railway station was built by Thomas Cubitt as the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway. Boudicca is supposed to be buried under Platform 8.
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I chanced across this and found the Boudicca burial idea fascinating. I live in SW Norfolk & was researching yesterday in Norwich library. One early document referred to my own village having fortifications guarding the river crossing 100 yards from my house. Important earthworks - because 'this place was the main gateway to the lands of the Iceni'. It gave me quite a shiver to be so close to the ghosts of the tribe.
We used to have a house near Watton which we used during the summer and in various excursions I found that there is a burial mound near Thetford that is supposed to be Boudicca's grave. Forget where it is exactly. I know that the mound was far older than Boudicca's time, but it could have been re-used. Or there again, she could be buried at Kings Cross.
King's Cross is probably not the location of Boudicca's final battle. Tacitus describes an area north of present day London. See: The Warrior Queen vs the Evil Empire
for several passages from Tacitus with respect to the battle. Check out this link to Tacitus's history of Boudicca's rebellion: Description by Tacitus of the Rebellion of Boudicca (AD 60-61)
If Tacitus is correct, Suetonius had withdrawn, leaving London to its fate. A bad one. It was razed and burnt to the ground and every resident may have been killed.
Boudicca would have pursued Paulinus Suetonius northward. Wily Suetonius chose his terrain wisely:
"He chose a position approached by a narrow defile, closed in at the rear by a forest, having first ascertained that there was not a soldier of the enemy except in his front, where an open plain extended without any danger from ambuscades." --Tacitus
In any case, thanks for the interesting story. This is fascinating stuff. Recent history (by British standards) is the story behind the Eleanor Crosses which are said to have marked the areas where Edward I's deceased Queen Eleanor of Castile was kept until the procession could resume to her final resting place in London.
A father and son team think they may have found the place where the battle was fought - see this documentary about their research and conclusions. The videos on Guba take a long time buffering, so once it has begun, I suggest you click on "pause" and let it buffer all the way before watching it.
Just to clarify, the numbering of the platforms at Kings Cross has changed so that the current platform 8 used to be platform 10.
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