The Secretary of State for Transport granted permission on 1 September 1994 to close the station and the branch closed on 30 September. I found my visit a fascinating and interesting experience. During the Second World War, Aldwych was closed for nearly six years and was used as an air raid shelter and the unused tunnels being used as storage for art and treasures from the British Museum. This programme was made around the time I also visited to photograph the location so you'll see many of the things I also photographed. Again it survived, but the service was reduced in June 1958 to run during Monday to Friday peak hours and Saturday morning and early afternoons. From where, ironically, we finished our tour in the lift. cross-platform connection with the Aldwych branch platform above. In 1994, the straw that broke the camel's back was the need to replace the old (original) lifts. The fact that it's on a branch line still connected to the main network and that it's now deserted, yet at the same time being in reasonably good condition down at platform level makes the station an ideal filming location. There was one connection only, to the north of the Holborn platform that remained in use. Since the branch's closure in 1994, its use in film productions has continued, with the station appearing as itself and, with appropriate signage, as other stations on the network. This view is of the branch platform that remained in use, looking northwards at the running tunnel that joins up with the main Piccadilly Line northbound track. The original 1907 lifts required replacement at a cost of £3 million. Fortunately for game-play, the Aldwych in the game is much larger featuring many platforms and hidden tunnels.
We're the number one site for reviews of paranormal TV and the home of the Paranormal Entertainment Awards. All legal disclaimers apply. Imagine that they hid all that art and the Elgin Marbles here too!
Also shown is the route of the line leading to it. When the two streets were scheduled for demolition as part of the London County Council's plans for the construction of Kingsway and Aldwych, the GN&SR moved the location to the junction of the two new roads. Including a timely advert encouraging us to join the Common Market! The extension was rejected following objections from the Duke of Norfolk under whose land the last part of the proposed tunnels would have run. London Transport Museum: The Complete Guide, Try the Number 11 Bus for a Cheap Alternative to London Sightseeing, Avoid These Peak Travel Times on the London Tube, Walking Tour of "Notting Hill"; Film Locations, What to Do With Teenagers in London, England, Here's How to Ride Mumbai's Infamous Local Train, The 8 Best Harry Potter Tours in London of 2020, How to Get to Central London From London City Airport, The Top 12 Things to Do in London's West End, Tripsavvy uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. The Aldwych branch of the Piccadilly Line has always been strange in that although it was operated as a basic single train shuttle service from early on in its life, the line was originally built as a double track, with two platforms at Aldwych and two platforms at Holborn, only one of which connected to the North bound Piccadilly line, the other terminating in a bay platform (see here for more details). It was used for The Patriot Games, V for Vendetta, Atonement, 28 Days Later and many more movies. Despite partial refurbishment in the 1980s passenger numbers remained low. You can get from place to place more quickly right now, and there will be a lot of paperwork to be done right now. Taking part in the Cotswold Olimpick Games, Chipping Campden, Gloucs, Up at the O2 and down the Orbit slide, London, I’m not a car person but had a great day at the, A couple of weeks ago I abseiled 300ft down the Sp, A missing footpath. The business case assessment was that the proposal offered high value, although similar values were calculated for other extension proposals from Bank.
[22] As with other UERL stations, the platform walls were tiled with distinctive patterns, in this case cream and dark green. That looks brilliant, would love to explore down there.
[16][note 1], Strand station was built on the site of the Royal Strand Theatre, which had closed on 13 May 1905 and been demolished. Aldwych is almost certainly the most "used" of the disused stations on the London Underground - today not by passengers, but by film and television companies. In World War I the platform acted as an emergency store for over 300 paintings from the National Gallery. © Laura Porter, licensed to About.com, Inc.
What did I think? Although the decoration was remarkably similar to Aldwych, Vauxhall Cross, the disused station featured in the latest James Bond movie Die Another Day was in all probability filmed on a sound stage. And to think I’ve never given the design of underground stations a second glance before.
The branch opened on 30th November 1907, with the Aldwych station initially being opened as Strand and then soon renamed due to confusion caused by the name, since at that time Charing Cross station located on the much more salubrious end of the Strand bore the same name! There was a lot of heavy breathing as the group climbed the 160 steps back to the surface. More photographs of this filming can be seen on the Scrap Book. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
[13], In 1905, with the Royal Commission's report about to be published, the GNP&BR returned to Parliament with two bills for consideration. Excellent tour guides take you around the station (in groups, for safety purposes) and they have a plethora of information to share as well as some fascinating photos.
Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer Transport for London. Why You Keep Seeing The Number 11 Explained, 10 Must-See Episodes Of Ghost Hunting Shows. The disused Jubilee line tunnels would be enlarged to accommodate the larger DLR trains and Aldwych station would form the basis for a new station on the line, although requiring considerable reconstruction to accommodate escalators. This train can be driven up and down the branch for filming. Would you consider licensing your pictures ot a UK publisher to be used in a book called Abandoned London? Only parts of the platform walls were decorated because it was planned to operate the branch with short trains. [31] The track and infrastructure are maintained in operational condition, and a train of ex-Northern line 1972 tube stock is permanently stabled on the branch.
Aldwych station was built on land that had previously been occupied by an art gallery, a non-conformist chapel and then the Royal Strand Theatre, which was demolished in 1905 to make way for the new station.
The 6 bus (Direction: Aldwych) has 37 stops departing from Bertie Road (WY) and ending in Aldwych / Drury Lane (E). Tours of a variety of underground stations (some disused, some not) are announced several times per year. line train shortly after leaving Holborn station. Hence the rather confusing sign outside the entrance. Aldwych is almost certainly the most "used" of the disused stations on the London Underground - today not by passengers, but by film and television companies. We discovered that one of Aldwych’s many alternative uses is as a drawing board for other stations. » Find Out More, Copyright © 1998-2020 Steve Higgins. A subway and steps - seen here - also connected the branch platform with the westbound A video showing the what the station looks like today, the posters that you see in … Nowadays it makes money from film and TV studios. [55] The music video for The Prodigy's song "Firestarter" was filmed in the disused eastern tunnel and one of the unused lift shafts. It was opened in 1907 with the name Strand, after the street on which it is located, and was the terminus of the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The main northbound Piccadilly Line platform at Holborn had a
Required fields are marked *. [56] The station was the subject of an episode of Most Haunted in 2002. The station has long been popular as a filming location and has appeared as itself and as other London Underground stations in a number of films. The LTM Friends usually guide the tours and they are real experts. [7] Neither of the railways had carried out any construction, but the UERL obtained permission for new tunnels between Piccadilly Circus and Holborn to connect the two routes.
By 1979, the cost was estimated as £325 million, a six-fold increase from the £51 million estimated in 1970. The station is especially interesting since there are three distinct types of passageway and platform that exist beneath the ground. [30] In 1958, the station was one of three that London Transport announced would be closed.
Although the government propaganda advertised a holiday camp atmosphere the reality was a lot of people in a very small space with minimal privacy and hygiene. No high heels allowed on this tour! When the station closed in 1994 only 450 people were using it every day. Interestingly, a bell operated at Holborn station rang in the Aldwych lift to give the lift attendant a warning that he had two minutes to get down and collect the passengers. These included the Elgin Marbles, which were brought down in the lift. In anticipation of a revival of the extension to Waterloo and the City route, the station was built with three circular lift shafts able to accommodate six trapezium-shaped lifts. The second proposed an extension and relocation of Strand station to the junction of Strand and Surrey Street.
All material on this page is © 2001 Hywel Williams unless otherwise noted. See the trains, platforms, ticket hall, booking office, some passageways and one of the lifts. The original Leslie Green designed ticket office window. [34][35] London Transport had already sought parliamentary approval to construct tunnels from Aldwych to Waterloo in November 1964,[36] and in August 1965, parliamentary powers were granted. The limited amount of movement on the line made it an ideal film location and many movies and TV shows were shot in the station before it's closure. end, it was reduced to single line running in 1917, due to the
If the lift broke down we were shown a ‘secret’ door into the next door lift shaft from where the second lift could come and rescue passengers. There has been much debate recently as to whether or not Aldwych can be regarded as a valid destination in the game titled Mornington Crescent (popularised by Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue). Both stations are approximately 10 minutes from the theatre.
In 1915 the station changed its name from Strand to Aldwych (the actual road the station is on) as nearby Charing Cross station was then called Strand (as it's at the other end of the road).
However, since the line is still maintained and trains are run often for filming companies, I believe the Hughs amendment to the 1997 rule on terminating lines could be applied and Aldwych used as a normal location in the game. [33], Although the Piccadilly Circus to City of London branch proposal of 1905 was never revisited after its withdrawal, the early plan to extend the branch south to Waterloo was revived a number of times during the station's life. The branch would have passed and interchanged with the already approved Strand station,[12] allowing travel on the GNP&BR from Strand in three directions.
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