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Stockwell 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 in Stockwell in the
London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
. It is served by the Northern and Victoria lines, and is located in Travelcard Zone 2. On the Northern line, the station is between
Oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...
and Clapham North stations. On the Victoria line, it is between
Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
and
Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...
stations. The station opened on 4 November 1890 as the southern terminus of the
City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use Railway electrification in Great Britain, electric traction. The railway was originally i ...
, the first successful deep-level tube in London. The Victoria interchange opened on 23 July 1971 when that line was extended south from Victoria towards Brixton. The station is known for its
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 ...
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 ...
s, and for being the location of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.


History


Original station

Stockwell station was ceremonially opened on 4 November 1890 by the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
(later
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
), as the most southerly station on the
City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use Railway electrification in Great Britain, electric traction. The railway was originally i ...
(C&SLR) – London's first successful deep-level tube railway. Passenger services began just over one month later on 18 December. The station was built with a single island platform with tracks on either side, an arrangement that today is rarely used underground on the network but which still exists at Clapham North and
Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...
. Stockwell's original platform was further north than the new ones, and trains pass it today. The other terminus of the C&SLR line was King William Street 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 ...
. On 3 June 1900, when an extension to Clapham Common was opened, Stockwell ceased to be a terminus. A flight of stairs at the south end of the platform was also added to take passengers to a subway that passed over the new northbound tunnel and joined the lift shaft at a higher level. The original building, designed by T. P. Figgis, was similar to – but larger than – the existing surface building at
Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...
with a domed roof to the original lift shaft. The two lifts each carried 50 people to and from the platforms until their replacement by escalators in 1924. The station was modernised in advance of the 1926 extension from
Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...
to
Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...
. A new surface building was constructed by
Charles Holden Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadwa ...
on the original site. The original station platforms were closed on 29 November 1923 and platforms sited to the south of the original were opened on 1 December 1924. At the same time the platforms were rebuilt to a larger diameter – and with a single platform in each tunnel – south of the original station tunnel.


New station

The station was expanded to accommodate the Victoria line, whose extension from Victoria to Brixton opened on 23 July 1971. Parallel
cross-platform interchange A cross-platform interchange is a type of Interchange station, interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly ...
s were provided between the two lines in both directions and the 1920s surface buildings were replaced by a modern structure. A third escalator was added to the existing pair, by constructing an additional shaft. Some construction work disturbed shelter tunnels constructed during war, that had to be re-sited. A
British Transport Police British Transport Police (BTP; ) is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland, which consists of over 10,000 miles of track and 3,000 stations and depots. BTP also polices the London Under ...
(BTP) station was later built above the station in 1985, as part of a BTP initiative to increase police presence across the Underground. As with all Victoria line stations, the platforms feature tiled murals in the seat recesses – the work at Stockwell designed by Abram Games shows a swan, a reference to the nearby Swan
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
. The station has ticket halls, three escalators, seven gates, 13 payphones, a
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
service, 9 vending machines and a photo booth.Stockwell Tube Station – Facilities
/ref> The ticket hall has electronic departure boards. The ticket office was closed in early 2015 as part of the TfL investment programme.


Nearby infrastructure


Deep-level air-raid shelter

Stockwell is one of eight London Underground stations with an adjacent deep-level air-raid shelter, constructed during
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 ...
. The shelter is below the current station, and comprises two parallel tunnels, each approximately six times the length of the current platform. These tunnels are in diameter (wider than the current platforms), split horizontally into upper and lower levels, with various connecting and branch tunnels used for medical posts, lavatories, and ventilation. The total capacity of the shelter was around 4,000 people. Access was via the station as well as two further entrance shafts containing spiral staircases, one of which is located at the middle of the junction of South Lambeth Road and Clapham Road, and the other on Studley Road. The shelter was completed in September 1942, and was used by the Government until 1944 when it was opened to the public. It was used for one year as a shelter. After the war it was used for a period to billet military personnel. One of the entrances has been brightly decorated and is a recognisable local landmark.


Branch tunnel and depot

Just north of the station there is a branch tunnel which led to a nearby generating station (closed 1915), depot and workshop located at the junction of Stockwell and Clapham Roads. The tunnel was very steep with an incline of 1:3.5, so rolling stock was originally pulled up to the surface using a wire rope and a winch. This system was replaced in 1907 by a hydraulic lift, which could carry one locomotive or one carriage. During the 1920s, the line was closed for reconstruction and the depot was used as a working site for transporting spoil, equipment and works traffic in and out of the tunnels. The depot and lift were finally taken out of use at the end of 1924. The incline tunnel and the lift shaft were plugged on the surface and several blocks of flats were constructed on the old depot site by the LCC. These flats still stand (), as does one retaining wall of the old depot with distinctive curved buttresses.


Incidents

On 22 July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician living in London, was shot dead by plainclothes police officers at Stockwell station. This incident came a day after the failed
21 July 2005 London bombings On 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks by four Islamism, Islamist extremists disrupted part of London's public transport system as a follow-up attack to the 7 July 2005 London bombings two weeks earlier. The explosions occurred around mid ...
occurred on tube trains and a bus in London. It later emerged that it was a case of mistaken identity on the part of the police and that Menezes had nothing to do with the attacks. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting a small shrine to de Menezes was created by mourners outside the station. This evolved into a permanent memorial mosaic which was unveiled on 7 January 2010 at the station on what would have been his 32nd birthday. It was made by local artist, Mary Edwards, with the help of Menezes' cousin, Vivian Figueiredo, as well as Chrysoula Vardaxi.


Services

Stockwell station is on the Northern and Victoria lines in London fare zone 2. On the Morden branch of the Northern line, the station is between Oval and Clapham North. On the Victoria line, it is between Brixton and Vauxhall. Train frequencies vary throughout the day. However, Northern line trains generally operate every 4–6 minutes between 06:06 and 00:12 in both directions while Victoria line trains generally operate every 3–5 minutes between 06:02 and 00:20 in both directions. There is also 24-hour
Night Tube The Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the London Underground ("Tube") and London Overground systems which provides through-the-night services on Friday and Saturday ni ...
service on both lines on Friday and Saturday evenings.


Connections

The station is served by
London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...
routes 2, 50, 88, 155,
196 Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this yea ...
, 333, 345 and P5, and also by night routes N2 and N155. Additionally, bus routes 88 and 345 have a 24-hour service.


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links


London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** ** ** {{Victoria line navbox Northern line stations Victoria line stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Lambeth Former City and South London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1890 Tube station