Stockwell tube station

Stockwell tube station is a London Underground station in Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is located on the Northern Line between Oval and Clapham North, and on the Victoria Line between Brixton and Vauxhall. It is the southernmost station on the London Undergound that serves more than one line. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2.

History

Stockwell station was ceremonially opened on 4 November 1890 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), as the most southerly station on the City & South London Railway (C&SLR) - London's first deep level tube railway. Passenger services began just over one month later on 18 December 1890.

The station had a single island platform, with tracks on either side, an arrangement rarely used on the Underground network, and which still exists only at Clapham North and Clapham Common stations. Stockwell's original platform was slightly further north than the modern ones, and present day trains still pass through it. The other terminal of the C&SLR line was the King William Street tube station, which was only open for 10 years (1890–1900) and is currently inaccessible following the rebuilding of Regis House above it and other alterations that were made during the extension of the Jubilee Line.

In 1900, Stockwell ceased to be a terminus, after the opening of an extension to Clapham Common. This involved the addition of a flight of stairs at the south end of the platform to take passengers to a subway that passed over the new northbound tunnel and joined the lift shaft at a higher level.

The original building at Stockwell was similar to – but larger than – the existing surface building at Kennington with a domed roof to the original lift shaft. Between 1923 and 1924, the station was modernised in advance of the 1926 extension from Clapham Common to Morden (Morden Extension). A new surface building was constructed on the original site, but the platforms were rebuilt to a larger diameter – and with a single platform in each tunnel – south of the original station tunnel.

With the opening of the Victoria Line on 23 July 1971, parallel cross-platform interchanges were provided between the two lines in both directions and the 1920s surface buildings were demolished and replaced by a rather nondescript structure dominated by a ventilation shaft. The surface buildings demolished in the 1920s were designed by T. P. Figgis, and were topped by a large decorative dome inside which were a pair of small guide wheels for the wires which controlled the hydraulic lifts. The two lifts each carried 50 people to and from the platforms until their replacement by escalators in the mid-1920s.

Air-raid shelter

Stockwell is one of eight London Underground stations with an adjacent deep-level air-raid shelter, constructed during the Second World War. The shelter is below the current station, and comprises two parallel tunnels, each approximately six times the length of the current platform. These tunnels are 16 feet 6 inches (5.3 m) in diameter (wider than the current platforms), split horizontally into upper and lower levels, with various connecting and branch tunnels used for medical posts, lavatories, and ventilation.

The total capacity of the shelter was around 1,600 people. Access was via the station as well as two further entrance shafts containing spiral staircases, one of which is located at the middle of the junction of South Lambeth Road and Clapham Road, and the other on Studley Road. The shelter was completed in September 1942, and was used by the Government until 1944 when it was opened to the public. It was used for one year as a shelter. After the war it was used for a period to billet military personnel. Like a number of other deep level shelters, it is presently being used for secure archiving.

Branch tunnel and depot

Just north of the station there is a branch tunnel which used to lead to a nearby generating station (closed 1915), depot and workshop located at the junction of Stockwell and Clapham Roads. The tunnel was very steep with an incline of 1:3.5, rolling stock was originally pulled up to the surface using a wire rope and a winch. This system was replaced in 1907 by a hydraulic lift, which could carry one locomotive or one carriage.

During the 1920s, the line was closed for reconstruction and the depot was used as a working site for transporting spoil, equipment and works traffic in and out of the tunnels. The depot and lift were finally taken out of use at the end of 1924. The incline tunnel and the lift shaft were plugged on the surface and several blocks of flats were constructed on the old depot site by the LCC. These flats still stand (as of 2011), as does one retaining wall of the old depot.

Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes

On 22 July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician living in London, was shot dead by plainclothes police officers at Stockwell station. This incident came a day after the failed 21 July 2005 London bombings occurred on Tube trains and a bus in London, however it later emerged that it was a case of mistaken identity on the part of the police and that Menezes had nothing to do with the attacks.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting a small shrine to Jean Charles de Menezes was created by mourners outside the station, this has since evolved into a permanent memorial mosaic.

Transport Connections

Stockwell station is served by bus routes: 2, 50, 88, 155, 196, 333, 345, P5, N2 and N155.

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive:

• Official opening of the original station, 1890
• Rebuilt station, 1924
• Victoria Line rebuild, 1974