Oval tube station

Oval

The station entrance viewed from Kennington Park
Oval Location of Oval in Greater London
Location	Kennington
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Managed by	London Underground
Owner	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	2
London Underground annual entry and exit
2008	5.920 million[1]
2009	5.792 million[2]
2010	5.630 million[3]
18 December 1890	Opened (C&SLR)
Early 1920s	Station building rebuilt
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
London Transport portalCoordinates: 51°28′55″N 0°06′45″W / 51.4819°N 0.1125°W / 51.4819; -0.1125

Oval tube station in Kennington is a station on the Northern line of the London Underground between Stockwell and Kennington stations. Oval station is in Travelcard Zone 2. It is named after The Oval, which it serves.

The station is located at the junction of Kennington Park Road (heading north-east), Camberwell New Road (south-east), Clapham Road (south west) and Harleyford Street (north west) and is about 500 yards from the Oval cricket ground. It opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the City & South London Railway. Also close by are Kennington Park and the imposing St Mark's Church. The station has cricket-themed decorations, with murals, statues and banners all celebrating the illustrious game.

History

The City and South London railway opened to passengers between Stockwell and King William Street on 18 December 1890, and was both the first standard gauge tube and the first railway to employ electric traction in London. To avoid disturbance of surface buildings the tube was shield-driven at deep level, and much of the work was done via shafts at station sites which later contained the passenger lifts. The Oval station, opened as Kennington Oval, was designed by Thomas Phillips Figgis with elements of early Arts and Crafts and neo-classical detailing. The structure was made distinctive by a lead-covered dome with cupola lantern and weathervane which housed some of the lift equipment; the main part of the building was of red brick. The station building was rebuilt in the early 1920s when the line was modernised and was refurbished during late 2007/early 2008 at street level with a modern tiling scheme inside and out, giving the station a more modern look. Reflecting its proximity to the cricket ground, the internal decorative tiling features large images of cricketers in various stances.

Oval tube station was the intended site of one of the attempted London bombings on 21 July 2005.

Transport links

London Bus routes 3, 36, 59, 133, 155, 159, 185, 333, 415, 436 and Night routes N109, N133, N136 and N155 all serve the station and its surrounding areas.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oval tube station.

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Original Oval station
  • Station after 1920s rebuild

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Stockwell towards Morden		Northern line		Kennington towards Edgware, Mill Hill East or High Barnet

v t e Northern line Stations High Barnet branch High Barnet Totteridge and Whetstone Woodside Park West Finchley Mill Hill East Finchley Central East Finchley Highgate Archway Tufnell Park Kentish Town Camden Town Edgware branch Edgware Burnt Oak Colindale Hendon Central Brent Cross Golders Green Hampstead Belsize Park Chalk Farm Camden Town Charing Cross branch Camden Town Mornington Crescent Euston Warren Street Goodge Street Tottenham Court Road Leicester Square Charing Cross Embankment Waterloo Kennington Bank branch Camden Town Euston King's Cross St. Pancras Angel Old Street Moorgate Bank London Bridge Borough Elephant & Castle (100m) Morden line Kennington Oval Stockwell Clapham North Clapham Common Clapham South Balham Tooting Bec Tooting Broadway Colliers Wood South Wimbledon Morden Future Extension to Battersea Click to enlarge Rolling stock Present stock 1995 Stock Former stock 1906 Stock 1938 Stock 1949 Stock 1956 Stock 1959 Stock 1962 Stock 1972 Stock Standard Stock History Former companies City and South London Railway Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway Edgware, Highgate and London Railway Underground Electric Railways Company of London Former lines Northern City Line Former stations City Road King William Street South Kentish Town Abandoned plans Northern Heights plan Alexandra Palace Brockley Hill Bushey Heath Cranley Gardens Crouch End Elstree South Mill Hill Muswell Hill North End Stroud Green See also: London Underground, Transport for London Note: Stations in bold are stations where one can transfer between branches of the Northern line. London Transport portal

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