Stockwell tube station
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Template:London stations Stockwell tube station is a London Underground station in Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated between Clapham North and Oval on the Northern Line, and between Vauxhall and Brixton on the Victoria Line. It is in Travelcard Zone 2.
Stockwell station was opened on December 18, 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. The station had a single island platform, with tracks on either side, an arrangement rarely seen on the underground network, this original platform is slightly further north than the modern day platform. The other terminal of the CSLR line was the King William Street tube station, which was only open for 10 years (1890-1900) and is currently accessible via a "manhole" in the basement of a modern day office building Regis House.
The original building 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 and the platforms were rebuilt to a larger diameter south of the original platforms.
With the opening of the Victoria Line on July 23, 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 non-descript structure dominated by a ventilation shaft. The surface buildings demolished in the 1920s were designed by T.P.Figgis, and were topped by a dome containing machinery for two lifts which could each carry 50 people to and from the platforms. Until 1915 there was an electricity generating capability at the Stockwell station complex.
Image:Stockwell deep level shelter entrance.jpg
Stockwell is one of eight London Underground stations each with a deep-level air-raid shelter beneath it. These shelters were constructed during World War II. The shelters are below the current station and comprise two parallel tunnels, each of which is approximately six times the length of the current platform. These tunnels are 16 foot 6 inches (5.3 m) in diameter (wider than the current platforms), the shelters are split horizontally into upper and lower levels, there are various connecting and branch tunnels used for medical posts, lavatories, and for ventilation. The total capacity of the shelter was around 1600 people. Access was via the station as well as two further entrance shafts containing spiral staircases located one of which is now 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. Unlike the current uses of the other deep level shelters within the tube network its present use is unknown.
Just north of the station there is a branch tunnel which used to lead to a nearby depot and workshop located at the junction of Stockwell and Clapham Roads. The tunnel is very steep within an incline of 1:3.5, rolling stock was originally pulled up to the surface using a chain and steam driven winch, this system was replaced in 1905 by a hydraulic lift, the depot and lift were taken out of use in 1923.
The 1960s saw the arrival of the Victoria line to Stockwell.
Stockwell station is also served by bus routes: 2, 88, 155, 196, 255, 345, 355 and P5.
On 22 July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician living in London, was shot dead by plain clothes 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, and it later emerged that the dead man had nothing to do with the attacks.
External links
London Transport Museum Photographic Archive:
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