Broad Street Station (London)
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Broad Street was a major
rail terminal A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...
in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, adjacent to
Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It i ...
. It served as the main terminus of the
North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...
(NLR) network, running from 1865 to 1986. During its lifetime, it catered for mainly local suburban services around London, and over time struggled to compete with other modes of transport, leading to its closure. The station was built as a joint venture by the NLR and the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
(LNWR) in order to have a station serving freight closer to the City. It was immediately successful for both goods and passenger services, and saw a significant increase in NLR traffic. Usage peaked in the early 20th century, after which it suffered from competition from
London trams {"type":"FeatureCollection","properties":{"name":"Trams in London","created":"2012-04-21T00:56:34.661+02:00","modified":"2018-04-16T22:45:37.383+02:00","generated":"2019-03-30T15:47:12.111+01:00","version":-1,"metadata":""},"features":
, buses and, especially, the London Underground">"type": ...
, buses and, especially, the London Underground network. Patronage gradually fell and services decreased, while the building became increasingly dilapidated. Freight services were withdrawn towards the end of the 1960s and the station closed in 1986. The station building was replaced by
Broadgate Broadgate is a large, office and retail estate in the Bishopsgate area of the City of London. It is owned by British Land and GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund), GIC and managed by British Land. History The original developer was a joint ...
, an office and retail complex, while part of the connecting line to the station was reinstated in 2010 as part of the
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
.


Location

The station was sited at the junction of Broad Street and Liverpool Street in the Broad Street ward of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, with
Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It i ...
immediately to the east. It was near Liverpool Street and tube stations.


History

The station was proposed by the
North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...
(NLR). The line originally opened as the East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway in 1850, in order to transport freight between the
London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...
and the
London Docklands London Docklands is an area of London encompassing the city’s former docks. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London ...
. By the time it had been renamed to the NLR in 1853, passenger traffic had grown in equal importance, so it was decided to build a station with direct access to the City.


Opening

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was also keen to have a goods depot in the City, and agreed to help the NLR fund the new extension. The connecting line to Broad Street (via the
Kingsland Viaduct Kingsland Viaduct is a railway viaduct about in length from Shoreditch to Dalston, wholly within the present London Borough of Hackney in east and north-east part of London. It was built in the 1860s, but was disused from 1986 until it was reop ...
) was authorised by the
North London Railway (City Branch) Act 1861 The City Branch was a short spur of the North London Line allowing direct access from the east-west main route of the North London Railway to the terminus at Broad Street railway station (London), Broad Street in the City of London. History Th ...
( 24 & 25 Vict. c. cxcvi) of 22 July 1861. The work involved a extension from Kingsland down towards Broad Street, and required the demolition of numerous properties in
Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...
and
Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...
. During construction of the terminus, a large burial ground was unearthed, exposing human remains. This may have been a result of the plague, or burial pits from
Bethlehem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably '' Bedlam'', ...
. The overall cost of the station and extension was £1.2m (£m in ). The station was opened on 1 November 1865 as the terminus of a network of commuter railways linking east and west London via the looping route of the NLR, originally with seven platforms and three approach tracks. The main building was designed by William Baker and constructed in an Italianate style and a
Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...
roof. The frontage was long and wide, constructed from white Suffolk brick and Peterhead granite, with a clock tower as a centrepiece. Initial services were to , and via . Services to
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
began on 1 September 1866. Cheap fares for the working class were available from the outset. A
goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...
was built next to the passenger station, opening to traffic on 18 May 1868. It was constructed on a deck, and a hydraulic lift was provided to move wagons down to warehouses below. Because of this, the station used only of land, which was convenient owing to the high price of land in the City.


Expansion and development

Broad Street was an immediate success and caused NLR traffic to double in a short space of time. A fourth approach line was added in 1874, a further (eighth) platform in 1891, and a final (ninth) platform in 1913. Two covered footbridges were added at the front of the main building in 1890 in order to provide direct access from the street to the platforms. At its peak at the turn of the 20th century, Broad Street was the third-busiest station in London (after Liverpool Street and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
). At this time, more than one train per minute arrived or departed Broad Street during rush hour, with over 27 million passengers in 1902. The
Great Northern Railway Great Northern Railway or Great Northern Railroad may refer to: Australia * Great Northern Railway (Queensland) in Australia * Great Northern Rail Services in Victoria, Australia *Central Australia Railway was known as the great Northern Railway ...
also used Broad Street as a supplement to its King's Cross terminal to the west. On 1 February 1910, the LNWR introduced a "City to City" service from Broad Street to , and . The service only lasted for a few years, before being withdrawn on 22 February 1915 as a result of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Nevertheless, the majority of Broad Street's traffic was local suburban services.


Decline

In the early years of the 20th century, the North London Line suffered a reduction in passengers and, especially, revenue, owing to the expansion of the
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
,
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
and
Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...
networks. In 1909, the NLR passed general handling of trains to the LNWR. By 1913, numbers had dropped to 44.6 per cent compared to 1900, and by 1921 to only 23.3 per cent and the patronage of Broad Street station declined accordingly. On 8 September 1915, the station was damaged by a
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155â ...
attack. In the face of the competition, the governing board finally decided to electrify the NLR, on the two-conductor-rail at 600 V DC system, and electrified passenger services started on 1 October 1916, using Oerlikon rolling stock, though the Watford service was not electrified until 10 July 1922. At the terminus, only the western five lines were ever electrified. Electrification appeared to stem the tide of passenger losses. Electric services to
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
and
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
began on 1 October 1916, followed by peak services to Watford on 16 April 1917. The latter were increased to all-day services on 10 July 1922. By this time, there were four trains per hour to Richmond and two per hour to Watford. Steam services continued to Poplar, with a peak service to . These latter trains continued to use old livery, without modern conveniences such as heating and electric light, and were unpopular. The station came under the ownership of the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...
as part of the Big Four grouping in 1923. The former GNR services from Broad Street were stopped completely in 1939 in order to accommodate essential
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
traffic. Broad Street was badly damaged during the war. The lines leading to the station were taken out of action after an overnight raid on 3–4 October 1940, closing the station for a number of days. Similar disruption occurred on 13 October and 11 November. The service to Shoreditch closed in 1940, while the service to Poplar was withdrawn on 14 May 1944 and never reinstated. A number of peak-season mainline trains to used Broad Street to take pressure off King's Cross in the early 1950s, but otherwise only a small number of local services remained. The main station building was closed in 1957, after which passengers were directed to a new concourse-level hut at the platform entrance to buy tickets. Curving around the north of London before turning south into the City, the North London Line was, for most passengers, a slower route into the financial district than alternative options like taking the Underground or changing at Euston or King's Cross. By 1960, only 41 trains carrying 6,400 passengers arrived at Broad Street in the three morning peak hours. The line and station came in for criticism in the
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. It is either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Sur ...
of 1963, whose recommendations resulted in the closing of many branch lines and stations across the country. Though Broad Street itself was not specifically listed for closure, it was earmarked as "stopping passenger services to be modified". The station was gradually run down and the level of service steadily reduced. In 1967 the major part of the
train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
roof was removed, having become unsafe, while goods services were withdrawn on 27 January 1969. Four of the nine platforms were taken out of use in the same year. On 6 November 1976, peak-hour services to the
Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...
via the Canonbury Spur were withdrawn with the opening of the
Northern City Line The Northern City Line (NCL) is a commuter railway line in England, which runs from Moorgate station to Finsbury Park in London with services running beyond. It is part of the Great Northern Route services, and operates as the south-eastern b ...
, and an additional platform was disconnected. The station was by then very dilapidated, with vegetation growing between disused platforms, and most of the old goods area was used as a car park.


Closure

In 1979,
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
was granted planning permission to completely redevelop Broad Street and Liverpool Street stations, and the latter took over the former's few services still remaining. This put Broad Street into a terminal decline. By 1985, 6,000 passengers per week were using Broad Street station and 300 arrived daily in the morning peak. From 13 May 1985, the service to was diverted away from Broad Street, leaving the peak hour
Watford Junction Watford Junction is a railway station serving the town of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), from and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. It is also the northern terminus of the Lion ...
services. It was agreed that Broad Street would be closed, trains being diverted to Liverpool Street once a new connecting chord was built from the North London Line. Until this was done, it was possible to accommodate this last service from the outer end of one platform, and, in November that year, demolition of the station began. The remaining single platform was used until 27 June 1986. The station was formally closed on 30 June, along with Dalston Junction, the other station serving the North London Line's City branch. Demolition of the station was completed by the end of 1986. The service from Watford to Liverpool Street was withdrawn on 28 September 1992. Primrose Hill station, the only station exclusively served by the route from Watford to the City, was closed at the same time.


Redevelopment

Broad Street station was completely demolished and replaced by the
Broadgate Broadgate is a large, office and retail estate in the Bishopsgate area of the City of London. It is owned by British Land and GIC (Singaporean sovereign wealth fund), GIC and managed by British Land. History The original developer was a joint ...
office and shopping complex. Most of the Kingsland Viaduct leading to the North London Line remains largely intact, and has been restored to carry the
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
along the old
trackbed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ...
as far as . The former line over the Great Eastern Street viaduct to Broad Street has been used as a location for artists' studios, housed in converted Jubilee line Underground trains. The
Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...
project, now called the
Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...
, to construct a new underground railway line through central London, has one of its stations at Liverpool Street. A new ticket hall serving the Elizabeth Line station has been built within the old Underground ticket hall with its entrance at 100 Liverpool Street, the old entrance to the Underground that served Broad Street, with the platforms themselves under the Broadgate complex. A feature of the concourse was the North London Railway war memorial. Made of white marble, it was installed on 10 February 1921, containing inscriptions of 64 names. The memorial commemorated the workers of the North London Railway company who lost their lives in '
The Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...
'. Upon closure, the memorial was put in store at Richmond station in 1989. On 7 June 2011, it was rededicated outside
Hoxton station Hoxton is a station on the Windrush line of the London Overground, located in the London Borough of Hackney in East London. It is on the Kingsland Viaduct, with the station entrance situated on Geffrye Street near Dunloe Street and Cremer Street, ...
by Rev James Westcott of St. Chad's Church and London's transport commissioner
Peter Hendy Peter Gerard Hendy, Baron Hendy of Richmond Hill, (born 19 March 1953), is a British transport executive and politician who has served as Minister of State for Transport, Minister of State for Rail since July 2024. Early life and education He ...
.


Accidents and incidents

*On 3 April 1891, 11 people were injured when a train from hit the hydraulic buffer stops at Broad Street. *On 20 September 1898, 15 people were injured when a service from Richmond approaching Broad Street at slightly excessive speed ran into the buffers at the end of platform six. A
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
report on the incident stated: "Fifteen passengers are reported to have complained of bruises or shock, and a few others have claimed compensation for damage to their hats." The train's driver testified: "I committed an error of judgment in not applying the brake quite soon enough." *On 18 August 1904, a train arriving into a Broad Street platform from Poplar collided with a service waiting to depart for Chalk Farm. Both trains were full and 56 passengers were injured. The Board of Trade investigation reported that "three of the injured had to be taken to hospital, but they were all able to proceed to their homes the same day." Six train crew members also complained of injury. An error on the part of the signaller was determined to be the primary cause of the collision. *On 20 March 1923, two people were injured when a train was rear-ended at Broad Street.


Cultural references

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
's 1984 feature film and album of the same name, ''
Give My Regards to Broad Street ''Give My Regards to Broad Street'' is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the Give My Regards to Broad Street (film), film of the same name. It features covers of Beatles' songs, Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings ...
'', makes reference to the station. In one of the last scenes of the film, McCartney walks into the station and sits alone on one of its benches. Broad Street is the target of an unsuccessful IRA bombing in television spy drama '' Spooks''; although set in 2002, Broad Street had been closed 16 years prior. Shots of
Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone a ...
were used.


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Wayne Asher. 2015. A very Political Railway – the rescue of the North London Line. *HP White. 1971. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 3 – Greater London. *


External links

* * {{Disused railway stations of London Railway termini in London Former buildings and structures in the City of London Disused railway stations in the City of London Former North London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1986