King William Street tube station

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King William Street

Location
Place	City of London
History
Opened by	City & South London Railway
Platforms	2
London Transport Portal

King William Street was the original but short-lived northern terminus on the City & South London Railway (C&SLR), the first deep tube underground railway in London and one of the component parts of the London Underground's Northern Line. It was in the City of London, on King William Street, near the present Monument station. When the station was in operation the next station south was Borough and the southern terminus of the line was Stockwell.

The station was opened on 18 December 1890. When opened, the station took the form of a single large tunnel running west-east with a single central track with platforms each side — one for passengers entering and one for passengers leaving the trains. The approach running tunnels had sharp curves and steep gradients in order to dive underneath the River Thames while remaining under public rights-of-way, in particular Swan Lane and Arthur Street. This combination severely limited the capacity of the station and in the years after opening a number of initiatives were made to improve operations. In 1895 a central platform with tracks each side was constructed to enable two trains to occupy the station at once; however, capacity remained restricted.

How King William Street might have appeared on the London Underground Map today if it remained open

When the line was extended northwards to Moorgate, new tunnels on a different alignment were constructed from north of Borough station with a new station at London Bridge station and an alternative City station at Bank. The station closed on 24 February 1900.

The original station building was demolished in the 1930s although the below ground parts of the station were converted for use as a public air-raid shelter during World War II. Access today is via a manhole in the basement of a modern day office building, Regis House. The original tunnels north of Borough remain, although when the Jubilee Line Extension was built in the late 1990s the original southbound tunnel was cut through as part of the construction works at London Bridge station.