Lancaster Gate is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station near

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. History It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between t ...

Bayswater Road Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road in London, A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road. Route In the east, Bayswater Road ...

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

(

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

), to the north of

Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...

, adjacent to the Royal Lancaster Hotel. It is on the Central line between Queensway and

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

stations, and is in fare zone 1.

History

Lancaster Gate station was opened on 30 July 1900 by the

Central London Railway The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below g ...

(now the Central line). The original station building was typical of the work of the line's original architect

Harry Bell Measures Harry Bell Measures (1862–1940) was an English architect. Career He had a varied career. In 1884 to 1892 he was in-house architect for William Willett, producing high-quality housing for the wealthy in London and South East England; these wer ...

. It was demolished and a new surface building constructed as part of the development above in 1968. The development was designed by T P Bennett & Son as an office block but converted soon after into a hotel. In 2004–05 the lower floors of the hotel were re-clad in white stone to a design by Eric Parry Architects. The hotel received planning permission for the re-cladding to include the station façade.

Refurbishment

Lancaster Gate was closed from July to November 2006 so that the lifts and other parts of the station could be refurbished. The station's chronic lift failures were considered by

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

to be a safety hazard and an inconvenience to passengers. Patronage has increased over the years and as a result the station's small ticket hall area is often congested, especially at weekends. Lancaster Gate station was also closed from January to June 2017 for complete replacement of the lifts. Due to the small size of the station, it was not feasible to do one lift at a time, so it was deemed necessary to close the entire station.

Location

Despite its name, the station is close to the Marlborough Gate entrance to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, about 300m to the east of the Lancaster Gate entrance. The station is within walking distance of

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

, providing a convenient interchange between the Central line and the main line station, although this is not highlighted on the Underground map. Transport for London's September 2011 report "Central London Rail Termini: Analysing passengers' onward travel patterns" did not include using Lancaster Gate as a means of getting from Paddington to the Central line.

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 94, 148,

274 Year 274 (Roman numerals, CCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Capitolinus (or, less frequently, year 1027 ''Ab urbe condita''). The d ...

and night route

N207 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

serve the station

Gallery

Image:91081 92 tube stock Lancaster Gate.jpg, 1992 stock on a westbound service Image:Lancaster Gate stn eastbound look west.JPG, Eastbound platform Image:Lancaster Gate stn westbound look east.JPG, Westbound platform Image:Lancaster Gate stn roundel.JPG, Station roundel

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** {{Central line navbox Central line (London Underground) stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the City of Westminster Former Central London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1900