21/270 - Balham

Balham station has an interesting history and has perhaps the best London Underground fact I have found so far on my travels. Balham comprises of a National Rail station and a London Underground station that is served by the Northern line. It is the only Northern line station on the Modern branch to link up with a National Rail station. 

The original railway station opened in December 1856 as Balham Hill on the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway. Three years later the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway purchased the line after its extension to Pimlico. The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway decided to relocate the station as part of works to widen the line and increase capacity. 

The new station was named Balham after the relocation in 1863, however, it was renamed Balham and Upper Tooting in March 1927 but reverted back to Balham in October 1969. In the early 20th century, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was electrified, and works began at Balham in 1913. The First World War interrupted these works, and they were not completed until 1925. However, in 1921 the line became part of the Southern Railway, and they required further electrification works, which took place between June 1928 and September 1929. 

Balham received an underground service in 1926 as part of the extension of the City & South London Railway, which became the Northern line, from Clapham Common to Morden. Seven stations opened as part of the extension in 1926, but six of them opened on 13 September 1926. However, Balham was the station that did not open in September but instead opened on 6 December 1926. 

All the station buildings on the extension in 1926, including Balham, were designed by Charles Holden. I have mentioned Charles Holden numerous times in this blog and made reference to his design classics such as Gants Hill and Southgate. Designing these stations was the first major project he had on the London Underground. Balham features entrances on the east and west side of Balham High Road, and they are both linked by a subway, both buildings became Grade II listed in June 1987.

Balham, like many deep tube stations, became a public air raid shelter during the Second World War. On the evening of 14 October 1940, a bomb dropped on the road above the station. This bomb created a crater and a bus crashed, which lead to the partial collapse of the northbound platforms and killed 66 people. The northern line was closed between Tooting Bec and Clapham Common for repair works and was reopened in January 1941. In 2000, a memorial plaque was installed in the ticket hall at Balham station. The bombing features in Ian McEwan's novel, Atonement, but he miscited the date as September 1940. 

Balham station features perhaps the best fact I have found on my travels on the London Underground. Balham is the only station name on the entire London Underground network that does not feature any of the letters in the word 'underground'. 

I highly recommend a trip on the Morden branch of the Northern line, and especially recommend visiting Balham for its rich history. 

Victoria Line Motifs

Today, 1 September 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Victoria line, as the line originally opened between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington. Regular and observant users of the Victoria line may have noticed that each station on the line features different tile motifs at platform level. Each motif is related to the station's local area or simply a 'play on words', with some being more cryptic than others. This blog post will explore the reasons behind the motifs at each station.

The Victoria line is rather uninformed compared to most other lines, with each station, expect Pimlico, featuring platform humps. All sixteen stations on the line feature underground platforms, making the Victoria line one of only two lines to have their platforms entirely underground, the other being the Waterloo & City line.

Brixton

Starting from the southern terminus of the Victoria line, Brixton's motif is the first example of a clever play on words rather than being related to the local area. The motif resembles a pile of neatly stacked bricks, or perhaps a ton of brix. Brixton is the 19th most used station on the entire network and the busiest terminating station, with 33.46m individual users in 2016. The tracks continue south of the station so two trains can sleep here at night, and become the first northern bound trains in the next morning. The station building at Brixton features the largest roundel on the network.

Stockwell

Stockwell's motif is perhaps one of the most difficult to spot unless you are an avid enthusiast of the London Underground or know the local area well. The tiles are arranged in a pattern symbolic of a swan, with the beak forming in the top left-hand side of the motif. The reason a swan was chosen is due to the popular 'The Swan' pub located near Stockwell station. Stockwell was one of eight London Underground stations to have adjacent deep-level air-raid shelters constructed during World War Two. The shelter could accommodate up to 4000 people and was used for one year during the war. Opening in 1890, the station is also served by the Northern line and required significant upgrades to accommodate the construction of the Victoria Line.

Vauxhall

The motif at Vauxhall station is another difficult pattern to spot. The tiles are arranged to represent a bench in a park, which is a reference to the nearby Vauxhall pleasure gardens. The gardens were very popular in the 18th and 19th Century, but slowly started to close in the 1840s, and now only a small part remains. The station opened in July 1848 by the London and South Western Railway and became part of the London Underground network in 1971 as the Victoria line extended south from Victoria to Brixton.

Pimlico

The motif at Pimlico station features 150 yellow dots, which represents modern art, a reference to the nearby Tate Britain art gallery. Pimlico is the only station to be served entirely by the Victoria line as it does not interchange with another London Underground lines, London Overground services or National Rail services. In 2015, Pimlico station was chosen as a test for the Wayfindr app, which provides assistance for visually impaired passengers. Also, Pimlico was the last station to open on the Victoria line in September 1972. 

Victoria

The motif at Victoria station is the first obvious pattern. The tiles are arranged in a silhouette of Queen Victoria, the second longest reigning British monarch. Victoria station opened in 1860 as a railway station by the London Brighton & Sout Coast Railway. Two years later, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway and the Great Western Railway started operating services from its own station. This split is still seen today. The station joined the London Underground network in 1868 as the District Railway opened their first section between South Kensington and Westminster. The Victoria line started operating services here in 1969. Upgrades and expansion of the London Underground station will be completed in 2018.

Green Park

The tiles at Green Park station represent a birds-eye view of the nearby Green Park. The station is popular with tourists, being close to the Ritz Hotel, Bond Street and Fortnum & Mason. Green Park is also one of two stations that serve the popular tourist attraction, Buckingham Palace, the other station being St James's Park. Originally named Dover Street, the station opened in 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, which became the Piccadilly line. The station extended in the 1960s and 70s to accommodate for the Victoria line (1969) and Jubilee line (1979).

Oxford Circus

Oxford Circus is one of London's busiest Underground stations. With 84.09m entries and exits in 2017, Oxford Circus is currently the third most used station on the network. As well as experiencing millions of entries and exits, the station also serves as a major interchange, which is the basis behind the tile motif. The coloured circles represent the three lines that serve Oxford Circus, the Victoria line, Central line and Bakerloo line, with the white circle representing the tube shaped tunnel. There are twice as many blue circles than red or brown, which is a reference to the motif being located on the Victoria line platforms. The motif is also replicated in the ticket hall at Oxford Circus station.

Warren Street

Warren Street was originally named Euston Road, and you can still evidence of this in the tiles on the Northern line platforms. The station received its current name in 1908, just one year after opening as part of the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, which later became the Northern line. The motif at Warren Street is another example of play on words, as it depicts a maze, which is often called a warren. Try and solve the maze in the motif, as it is possible. The northbound Northern line was a film set for the 1972 horror film Death Line. In 2012, Warren Street became the first London Underground Wi-Fi enabled station. 

Euston

Despite being one of my least favourite national railway stations, the tile motif at Euston is one of my favourites. The motif is a reference to the arch that was once the entrance to the mainline railway station. The arch was built in 1837 but was sadly demolished in the 1960s as the station was largely rebuilt. There are proposals to reconstruct a similar arch as part of the High Speed 2 station redevelopments, to mark the station being the London terminus. It is not just High Speed 2 that will provide new services to the station, the proposed Crossrail 2 will also interchange with the existing services that include the Northern line, national rail, London Overground and of course the Victoria line. 

King's Cross St. Pancras

Did you know that there are twenty escalators in the King's Cross St. Pancras underground station, which is the joint highest with Waterloo? King's Cross St. Pancras is an interesting station for tube enthusiasts. Because of the size of the station and its complex nature, it is littered with shortcuts, that goes against the platform signage. For example, there is a well-known shortcut between the Northern line and Victoria line at King's Cross St. Pancras. The motif, however, has quite a simple clue. There are five crowns, a symbol of the monarch (or a king), and they are arranged in a cross. 

Highbury & Islington 

The tile motif at Highbury & Islington is another reference to a historic site, this time the former Highbury Manor. During the peasants' revolt of 1381 around 20,000 rioters destroyed the manor. The Lord at the time, Robert Hales was captured and beheaded on Tower Hill. The station was originally named Highbury, and it was not until 1922 when the station was renamed Highbury & Islington. 

Finsbury Park

With 31.22m passengers in 2016, Finsbury Park is the busiest station on the network where you can get to platform level without going through ticket barriers. Yet again, the motif at Finsbury Park features another historical reference with the two pistols representing duels that happened in this area when it was outside the boundaries of London. This, however, was a mistake by the artist, who was thinking of Finsbury Fields. The Great Northern Railway opened the station as Seven Sisters Road in 1861 but was later renamed Finsbury park in 1869. 

Seven Sisters

Similar to Brixton, Victoria, Warren Street and King's Cross St. Pancras, the motif at Seven Sisters is another example of play on words, as it features seven trees. The station took its name from the seven elm trees that once stood where the Seven Sisters Road, built in the 1830s, met with Ermine Street. The station is located near Tottenham Hotspurs stadium, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which is due to open sometime in the 2018/19 football season. 

Tottenham Hale

Four of London's last remaining Trolleybus poles stood near the station entrance at Tottenham, unfortunately, these were removed in 2016. The motif at Tottenham Hale is a reference to the nearby river Lea, with a ferryman taking a passenger across the water. There is some debate about the meaning behind Hale in the station name, with some believing it is a reference to somebody Haling, or calling, a ferryman. Cyrill Harris in his excellent What's in a name?, however, states that the Hale "derived from the Old English heath 'a corner of land.'" There are plans to upgrade Tottenham Hale by creating a new entrance, increasing the concourse capacity and providing an easier interchange between the Victoria line and national rail services.

Blackhorse Road

The penultimate motif is the final motif that is a play on name, with the tiles resembling a black horse. If you exit the station, there is an impressive Blackhorse by David McFall on the station building which is worth taking a look at. The station takes its name from the nearby Blackhorse Lane, which was recorded as Black House Lane in 1848. With 9 million users in 2017, Blackhorse Road is the least used station on the Victoria line. 

Walthamstow Central

If you have found some of the other motifs easy to spot, how about at the final stop on the Victoria line, Walthamstow Central? Unless you are a huge fan of the London Underground, or a local to Walthamstow, you may not realise that the motif is an example of a piece of work by William Morris. William Morris was a famous textile designer, poet, novelist and social activist who was born in Walthamstow. He moved to Water House aged 13, which you can now visit in Lloyd Park, where there is a gallery dedicated to his life and work. The station was originally named Walthamstow (Hoe Street) when it was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1870. The station was renamed Walthamstow Central in May 1968, just in time for the opening of the Victoria line 50 years ago today.