A Look Inside The Abandoned Aldwych Tube Station

I was recently very kindly invited by the London Transport Museum on one of their Hidden London tours.

I have previously been on their tour of the Clapham South Deep Level Shelter, which was incredible, so I was very excited to do another.

This time I went for Aldwych: End of the Line: a tour of the disused Aldwych station. I walk past and talk about it regularly on my Strand walking tour, so I thought it was about time I saw what it looked like on the inside.

The History 

The station opened in 1907 as ‘Strand Station’. It was on its own branch of the Piccadilly Line, created when two railway companies merged in 1902: the Great Northern and Strand Railway and the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway. 

You can see the combination of the two lines below.

Designed by Leslie Green, Strand station was built on site of the Royal Strand Theatre demolished in 1905. 

Leslie Green was the architect of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London from 1903-1907 and was commissioned to design 50 stations in that period. They are the most instantly recognisable and iconic stations on the network, with the oxblood red tiles and large semi-circular windows at the first floor level. 

It was constructed with three lift shafts but only one was ever used. The shafts were hexagonal with two trapezoid-shaped lifts operated within it.

You can see original wooden trapezoid lifts on the tour: the only remaining wooden lifts on the entire network. They were, of course, replaced over time due to fire regulations. 

Strand Station was renamed Aldwych Station in 1915 so as not confuse it with Charing Cross Station which was also originally known as Strand station. 

Even from the beginning it was not used by many passengers. At its peak 450 regular passengers were using it daily. There are other stations nearby and you often had to change trains at Holborn to reach it.

One platform was therefore disused from 1917 and the station shut for good in 1995. 

A Civilian Air Raid Shelter

During the Blitz, Londoners started to use the tube network to shelter from the bombs. They simply purchased a ticket and stayed down there.

The authorities were not too keen on this approach when there were trains still coming through the platforms and so Westminster Council closed Aldwych station to trains completely and opened it purely to shelterers, for free.

They encouraged as many people to use this as a shelter instead. As trains were not coming through hammocks and bunk beds could not only be set up on the platforms but on the tracks as well.

It was one of the largest dedicated civilian air-raid shelters in central London, holding about 1500 people. It was mostly used by those coming in from the East End, who perhaps did not have gardens for their own private shelters.

Life Underground

A great moment on the tour was when a recording of someone speaking who had experienced sheltering at Aldwych station during the Blitz was played. It includes his reminiscences on how people would bring picnic baskets down to the platforms, how dim the lighting was and the only noises were people groaning or shifting and others telling them to be quiet. 

There was a library and basic medical care on offer as well. This was before the foundation of the NHS, so fairly revolutionary for the time.

Chemical toilets were also provided: essentially buckets filled with disinfectant. The sewage would be ejected to the surface through pipes by compressed air. This contraption was nicknamed the ‘slophopper’. 

There was also occasional entertainment provided. Concerts took place down there for example. Some were even televised, you can see a video of George Fornby performing in Aldwych Station below.

There are also plenty of replica WW2 posters in the tunnels, put up for filming.

A Shelter For Artworks 

Not only did it act as a shelter for Londoners but also for incredibly valuable artefacts and artworks from London’s museums and galleries. 

Sections of the Elgin Marbles were stored in the tunnels of Aldwych Station for example, as well as paintings from the National Gallery, such as JMW Turner’s Fighting Temeraire. 

The Anglo-Saxon horde of Sutton Hoo had only just been dug up in 1939 but was swiftly sent back underground at Aldwych station for the duration of the war. Most items stayed down there until 1948 protected by an armed guard.

Filming and Experiments

Due to the fact it is largely unaltered and has lots of original features, it is regularly used for TV and film.

It features in the films Darkest Hour, Fast and Furious, as well as TV shows Sherlock and Mr Selfridge.

There are quite a few leftovers from filming down there, for example, this writing saying ‘Piccadilly Line’, they think is a leftover from Mr Selfridge. The observant amongst you will notice that it is not the correct Edward Johnstone font used across the network.

The station was also used in music videos, such as The Prodigy’s Firestarter. You can watch the video here. 

Aldwych has also been a perfect spot for Tfl to use as a trial station for various design decisions. They tried out some Piccadilly Circus tile designs here for example, that you can see below.

How To Visit

The London Transport Museum run regular tours at various different times throughout the day. The tour costs £44 for adults and lasts around 75 minutes.

Bear in mind that there are 160 steps down to the platforms.

Find out more about booking and what dates are available here!

Thank you for reading, more of London’s amazing hidden history below…