Hidden Secrets

By Elliott West

Introduction

Dotted amongst the labyrinth of tube stations on the London Underground network, lie 40 disused stations that haven’t seen the light of day for many years. Bricked up and put away to bed from public view, they are relics of the past, a time when bowler hats were worn and smoking was permitted on the trains and platforms. Now flaking and in many cases, in a sorry state of disrepair, these stations breathe dusty life into a bygone time when the tube map was far less complicated and there was a shorter journey time between a number of stations. A time when the escalators. were wooden, the train seating was plush and every train had a guard. These dusty jewels are glorious relics that sadly now only staff, contractors, the odd visitor’s tour and the scurrying mice get to see.

These stations were closed for multiple reasons, either they were too expensive to keep open, within walking distance of another or served a now defunct line or branch line. However, if you do your detective work, parts of the original platforms and station buildings can be seen on those on the subsurface lines and at street level, some of the original station entrances. The likes of Lord’s, Marlborough Road, Down Street and York Road may now only be called out now in a ghostly whisper but they remain an integral and vital part of London Underground’s 160-year-old heritage.

Hidden Gems

I have a close association with London Underground, having worked on the network for 22 years, rising through the grades to my current position as a Customer Service Supervisor at Victoria Station. In fact, it wasn’t until I did my family tree that I found out that my maternal Great Uncle, Cyril or Reg Bull as he liked to be known, worked at White City Station in the post-war years. In fact, he first caught sight of his future wife Olive, my Grandfather’s sister, on a London bus. Sounds like an episode of that classic British comedy, On The Buses. I digress, for the purpose of this piece, I would like to look at 10 of these 40 stations and reveal a number of fascinating facts that have been hidden under a layer of dust for many years.

Down Street 

Originally opened in 1907, this station was designed by the in-house underground architect, Leslie Green. Distinctive for its ox-blood red tiling in the ticket hall and on the station entrance, this station was unique in that it had low footfall and was never busy. A station on the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway would become the Piccadilly line. Situated close to Dover Street, now Green Park and Hyde Park Corner stations, it was a deep-level station and so passengers avoided it because it was difficult to use. This led to it being closed in 1932. Yet this wasn’t the end of its purpose. A decade later, the tunnels below the station were transformed into accommodation for 40 staff, a mixture of dormitories, washrooms, toilets and dining facilities, first used by the Railway Executive Committee as its headquarters during the Second World War, until 1947 who managed the country’s railways and the movement of troops and equipment and also a safe haven for Winston Churchill during the Blitz. Cramped but cosy, this was one of the few places where rationing was off the agenda with supplies of food such as caviar, vintage champagne, brandy and cigars provided by local railway hotels.

Aldwych/Strand Station

First opened as Strand Station in 1907 and a station that changed its name to Aldwych in 1915, this station was literally eventually left stranded as the only station at the south spur of the Piccadilly line. Although first mooted to link to Fleet Street and the City of London in 1903, this plan was scrapped. Surviving another 80 years as an almost redundant station, it houses the first Otis lifts, it was difficult to get to by the tube, having to change at Holborn and take a one-stop train to get there. Very close to Temple Station, Aldwych served as a peak-only hours station from 1958 until 1994 and was once used to house the famous Elgin Marbles. A station that is haunted by the ghosts of the thespian Francis Maria Kelly, a former uniformed member of staff and the sounds of human singing, the scent of cigarette smoke, perfume and the noise of human chatter. A station that is still regularly used for tours, ghost investigations, films and television programmes. A station that still has its original ticket hall, platform and a 1972 Northern Line train.

South Kentish Town

Originally to be called Castle Road, this name was shelved several weeks before it opened in 1907. A decision that would backfire as all the tiles in the station had to be repainted. Rarely used by passengers, even by 1908 drivers decided not to stop there. It was a station that was dogged by problems, temporarily closing in 1924 due to a strike at Chelsea’s Lots Road Power Station. When the power did eventually come back on, the decision was made to keep the station closed. It has now been turned into an escape room, based on a passenger who got lost in the station in 1924 and disappeared.

City Road

City Road was opened in 1901 and by 1908 there were already calls to shut it due to low passenger numbers. Although there were plans to expand the station and platforms, these couldn’t be justified due to unnecessary costs. City Road closed in 1922 and caused a gap to form between Angel and Old Street stations on the Northern line.

York Road

Originally opened in 1906, this station was in close proximity to King’s Cross. An impressive station, designed by Leslie Green, passenger numbers plummeted and when the Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove section of the Piccadilly line was opened in 1932, the station closed for good. It remains one of the best examples of a complete disused station. Well preserved, the station still has the ox-blood red tiles and still has a wafer-thin chance of being reopened in the medium to distant future.

Mark Lane

Mark Lane opened in 1884 and came about from the marriage of the Metropolitan and District Railway, a line that now forms the inner circle of the Circle line. Mark Lane was built to replace the short-lived Tower of London station and operated for two years before it was decided that a larger station was needed on the site. It was renamed Tower Hill in 1946, with no relation to the present station with the same name. Although built next to the current Tower Hill station, it closed in 1967 due to the influx of passengers and a bigger site being needed. A site where Tower Hill which serves the Circle and District lines was built and opened in 1967. You can still part of the original station with an old entrance hidden behind one of the arches next door to All Bar One and sealed off behind a gate.

Ongar

Opened in 1865, Ongar station was originally part of the Great Eastern Railway and was originally used to transport agricultural products from Essex to London. It was taken over by the Underground in 1949 and became a station on the east end of the Central line. It was also used by British Rail to run steam trains until 1957. This wasn’t an especially used station and the neighbouring Blake Hall station was only apparently used by six passengers a day, a station that closed in 1981. Ongar carried on until 1994 but it is still used for four steam trains, providing leisure trips on the Epping-Ongar railway.

Brompton Road

This is one of a number of abandoned stations on the Piccadilly line, a station that opened in 1906. Originally situated between Knightsbridge and South Kensington stations, it was too close to neighbouring stations. First closed during the General Strike in 1926 for five months, it eventually closed in 1934 to modernise Knightsbridge station. Now used by the London Transport Museum for Zoom-hosted tours, it was once used as a Second World War bunker and was used by the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade during the war. It was sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2014 to a Ukrainian businessman, Dmytro Firtash for £53 million, who wanted to turn it into residential accommodation. However, it remained unused.

British Museum 

British Museum station stood on the opposite side to Holborn station. Opened in 1900, it was run by the Central London Railway. As it was badly connected, it shut in 1933 and Holborn won the station battle. The station is thought to be haunted by an Egyptian god, Amun-ra, who also haunts the British Museum. A tunnel that links the museum and the disused station, allows the ghost to travel between the two. In 1935, he supposedly kidnapped two women at Holborn station. A tale but eerie all the same.

Marlborough Road

One of three disused stations on the Metropolitan line, the others being Lord’s and the original Swiss Cottage station, Marlborough Station was situated just north of Baker Street station. A building that you can still see between Finchley Road and Queen’s Grove. All three of these stations were closed between 1939-1940 to allow for a new stretch of the Bakerloo line to Stanmore. It is now used as a substation to power the S -stock Metropolitan line trains. The building was once used as a Chinese restaurant.