St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road) was a station on the

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

s of the

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 ...

. It was located between

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

and Aldgate East stations, in the East End of London. It was opened in 1884 on the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Joint Railway, and served initially, albeit briefly, by the South Eastern Railway, then and for much of its existence jointly by the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

and the

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...

; the route is now served by the District and

Hammersmith & City line The Hammersmith & City line is a London Underground line that runs between Hammersmith in west London and in east London. Coloured pink on the Tube map, it serves 29 stations over . Between and it skirts the City of London, the capital's finan ...

s. The station was closed in 1938 in advance of the relocation of Aldgate East to within minimal distance, rendering St. Mary's inessential. The station building was severely damaged during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

of the Second World War and subsequently was demolished.

History

Opened on 3 March 1884 as St. Mary's (Whitechapel), the station was on the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Joint Railway, and initially used by the South Eastern Railway; this service was withdrawn on 1 October 1884 and one week later the services were taken over jointly by the

and the

. The station was small and cramped, and was located very close to both

and Aldgate East stations, just before the junction to the

East London Line The East London line is a railway line running north to south through the East, Docklands and South areas of London. It is used by London Overground services. It was previously a line of the London Underground. Built in 1869 by the East Lond ...

. In 1938, Aldgate East was relocated further eastwards and given a new entrance only a few hundred yards from St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road) rendering the latter surplus to requirements. It was permanently closed after the last train on 30 April 1938 in advance of the resiting of Aldgate East. St marys station 1938

During the

Second World War 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 ...

, the station site was leased from London Transport by the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

for use as an

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

. The edges of the platforms were bricked up to separate the shelter areas from the still-used tracks. On 22 October 1940, during the early months of

, the street-level station building was hit by a bomb and severely damaged. Its temporary replacement was also hit a few months later. The structure was subsequently demolished, hence little evidence of the station's existence now remains above ground, and its site is occupied by a car dealership. The bricked-up platforms are still accessible to

staff via an anonymous door off Whitechapel Road. Below ground, it is still possible to make out where the station was, as the barrel-vaulted roof and bricked-off platforms are still just visible from passing trains. Sometimes, trains travelling from Whitechapel to Aldgate East are held at signals, resulting in the train stopping abreast of the old St. Mary's platform.

St. Mary's Curve

The connection line leading to the old East London Line is still called the St. Mary's Curve. For many years the line was only used to transfer

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

between the East London and Metropolitan lines. Loading gauge restrictions for the stock meant that, although the curve was double tracked, trains could only pass in one direction at any one time.London Underground Video on Metropolitan line and East London Line. When illuminated, it can easily be seen from the left-hand side of East London Line trains entering Whitechapel from the south and can still be seen from the right-hand side of District line trains entering the station from the west. Since re-opening 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 ...

in 2010, the former East London Line no longer shares rolling stock with the Metropolitan line. As a result, St. Mary's Curve is no longer used, but the tunnel still exists. The

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

at St. Mary's Curve were removed in 2009.

References

External links

Abandoned Stations - St. Mary's (Whitechapel Road)

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
**
BBC News - Rare tour inside an abandoned tube station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Whitechapel Road tube station District line stations Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Hammersmith & City line stations Disused London Underground stations Former Metropolitan and Metropolitan District Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1884 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1938 Buildings and structures in Whitechapel 1884 establishments in England 1938 disestablishments in England Railway stations located underground in the United Kingdom