Bank and Monument stations
Encyclopedia
Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground
and Docklands Light Railway
stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street
in the City of London
. Bank station, named after the Bank of England
, opened in 1900 and is served by the Central
, Northern
and Waterloo and City lines, and the Docklands Light Railway. Monument station, named after the Monument to the Great Fire of London
, opened in 1884 and is served by the District
and Circle lines. The stations have been linked as an interchange since 1933. The station complex is the eighth busiest on the London Underground network and is in London fare zone 1.
(MR) and Metropolitan District Railway
(MDR) had, by 1876, built most of the Inner Circle (now the Circle line), reaching and respectively. The companies were in dispute over the completion of the route as the MDR was struggling financially and the MR was concerned that completion would affect its revenues through increased competition from the MDR in the City area. City financiers keen to see the line completed, established the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway in 1874 to link Mansion House to Aldgate. Forced into action, the MR bought out the company and it and the MDR began construction of the final section of the Inner Circle in 1879.
The station at Monument opened with the name "Eastcheap" on 6 October 1884 and was renamed "The Monument" on 1 November 1884. Initially, trains from both companies served the station on the Inner Circle service but other operational patterns have been used. The Inner Circle service achieved a separate identity as the Circle line in 1949 although its trains were still provided by the District or Metropolitan Lines.
(L&SWR) to link its terminus at Waterloo to the City. The station, with platforms under Queen Victoria Street and close to Mansion House
, opened on 8 August 1898 as "City".
The sloping passages to the platforms were later provided with one of the few sets of moving walkway
s on the whole underground system. Advertising at the Waterloo & City station often takes the form of large painted murals on the walls and ceilings of the sloped exits, forming one of the largest advertisements on the underground. The Waterloo and City line platforms were renamed "Bank" on 28 October 1940.
(C&SLR, now part of the Northern line) opened its extension from to . The earlier terminus of the line, , on a different tunnel alignment was closed at the same time.
The C&SLR had obtained permission to demolish the 18th century church of St Mary Woolnoth
on the corner of Lombard Street
and build a station (originally proposed to be "Lombard Street") on the site. After public protest, the company changed its plans to build only a sub-surface ticket hall and lift entrance in the crypt
of the church. This necessitated moving the bodies elsewhere, strengthening the crypt with a steel framework and underpinning
the church's foundations. Unusually for stations later converted to escalator
s, the original lift
access from the ticket hall is still in use.
(CLR, now the Central line) at Bank followed on 30 July 1900.
As with the C&SLR, the high cost of property in the City, coupled with the presence of the Royal Exchange
, the Bank of England, and Mansion House, meant that the station had to be built entirely underground. Permission was granted by the City of London Corporation for the station to be sited beneath the busy junction of roads meeting at this point on condition that public subways
were provided to act as pedestrian road crossings. To avoid undermining the road above, the station's lifts were installed in separate lift shafts rather than paired two-per-shaft as usual.
To avoid wayleave
payments to property owners and to lessen possible claims for damage during construction and operation, the CLR tunnels were directly under public streets. This caused the platforms under Threadneedle Street
and Poultry to be so curved that one end of the platform cannot be seen from the other. East of Bank station the Central line tunnels have sharp curves to avoid the vaults of the Bank of England itself.
Due to the close proximity of the CLR, W&CR and C&SLR stations, and the non-competing directions of their services, their ticket halls were soon connected, but connection between the CLR and C&SLR platforms were made only when escalators were installed in the 1920s.
built a tunnelled extension to platforms parallel to (but deeper than) the Northern line platforms which opened on 29 July 1991. The DLR platforms were connected at one end to the Central line and at the other to Monument station. A new link between the Waterloo & City and the Central line was excavated which uncovered part of one of the Greathead
tunnelling shield
s used for the Waterloo and City line. This shield forms part of the new passageway, and passengers pass through when transferring between the two lines.
In January 1994 a statue of James Henry Greathead
was erected outside the station, next to the Royal Exchange
. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of London
and is positioned on a plinth which hides a ventilation shaft for the Underground.
, 57 people were killed and 69 people were injured when a German bomb hit the Central line ticket hall. The crater, measuring 120 by 100 ft (36.6 by 30.5 m), was covered with a Bailey Bridge
for the traffic to pass over. The station itself was closed for two months.
On 7 September 2003, Bank station was used for a disaster training exercise, billed as "the most realistic live disaster exercise of its kind". The event, lasting several hours and involving about 500 police, fire, ambulance and London Underground personnel, was intended to prepare the emergency services for mass decontamination
in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.
routes 8, 11, 15, 21, 23, 25, 26, 40, 43, 76, 133, 141, 242 and 388 and night bus routes N8, N11, N21, N26, N76, N133, N550 and N551 serve the station.
(TfL) are transforming it significantly, removing some bottlenecks, and improving mobility-impaired access. The station's 15 escalators are being replaced or refurbished with a one-way system in operation in parts of the station. As yet, no completion date for the escalator refurbishment works has been released for the information of passengers who use the station.
A new entrance on Walbrook will provide new escalators and lifts to the Waterloo and City line platforms while TfL are consulting on retunnelling the Northern line platforms, widening them, adding lifts and a new entrance on King William Street. If agreed, work would take place from 2015 to 2021.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street
King William Street (London)
King William Street is the name of a street in the City of London, England. It runs from a junction at the Bank of England, meeting Poultry, Lombard Street and Threadneedle Street, south-east, where it meets a junction with Gracechurch and Cannon Street. It continues south after this junction, and...
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. Bank station, named after the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
, opened in 1900 and is served by the Central
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
, Northern
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
and Waterloo and City lines, and the Docklands Light Railway. Monument station, named after the Monument to the Great Fire of London
Monument to the Great Fire of London
The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as The monument, is a 202 ft tall stone Roman Doric column in the City of London, England, near the northern end of London Bridge. It stands at the junction of Monument Street and Panda Bear Hill, 202 ft from where the Great...
, opened in 1884 and is served by the District
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
and Circle lines. The stations have been linked as an interchange since 1933. The station complex is the eighth busiest on the London Underground network and is in London fare zone 1.
History
Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway, 1884
The Metropolitan RailwayMetropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
(MR) and Metropolitan District Railway
Metropolitan District Railway
The Metropolitan District Railway was the predecessor of the District line of the London Underground. Set up on 29 July 1864, at first to complete the "Inner Circle" railway around central London, it was gradually extended into the suburbs...
(MDR) had, by 1876, built most of the Inner Circle (now the Circle line), reaching and respectively. The companies were in dispute over the completion of the route as the MDR was struggling financially and the MR was concerned that completion would affect its revenues through increased competition from the MDR in the City area. City financiers keen to see the line completed, established the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway in 1874 to link Mansion House to Aldgate. Forced into action, the MR bought out the company and it and the MDR began construction of the final section of the Inner Circle in 1879.
The station at Monument opened with the name "Eastcheap" on 6 October 1884 and was renamed "The Monument" on 1 November 1884. Initially, trains from both companies served the station on the Inner Circle service but other operational patterns have been used. The Inner Circle service achieved a separate identity as the Circle line in 1949 although its trains were still provided by the District or Metropolitan Lines.
Waterloo & City Railway, 1898
The Waterloo & City Railway was built by the London and South Western RailwayLondon and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
(L&SWR) to link its terminus at Waterloo to the City. The station, with platforms under Queen Victoria Street and close to Mansion House
Mansion House, London
Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. It is used for some of the City of London's official functions, including an annual dinner, hosted by the Lord Mayor, at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer customarily gives a speech – his...
, opened on 8 August 1898 as "City".
The sloping passages to the platforms were later provided with one of the few sets of moving walkway
Moving walkway
A moving walkway or moving sidewalk is a slow moving conveyor mechanism that transports people, across a horizontal...
s on the whole underground system. Advertising at the Waterloo & City station often takes the form of large painted murals on the walls and ceilings of the sloped exits, forming one of the largest advertisements on the underground. The Waterloo and City line platforms were renamed "Bank" on 28 October 1940.
City & South London Railway, 1900
The first station to be known as Bank opened on 25 February 1900 when the City & South London RailwayCity & South London Railway
The City and South London Railway was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction...
(C&SLR, now part of the Northern line) opened its extension from to . The earlier terminus of the line, , on a different tunnel alignment was closed at the same time.
The C&SLR had obtained permission to demolish the 18th century church of St Mary Woolnoth
St Mary Woolnoth
St. Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near the Bank of England.- Early history :...
on the corner of Lombard Street
Lombard Street, London
Lombard Street is a street in the City of London.It runs from the corner of the Bank of England at its north-west end, where it meets a major junction including Poultry, King William Street, and Threadneedle Street, south-east to Gracechurch Street....
and build a station (originally proposed to be "Lombard Street") on the site. After public protest, the company changed its plans to build only a sub-surface ticket hall and lift entrance in the crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
of the church. This necessitated moving the bodies elsewhere, strengthening the crypt with a steel framework and underpinning
Underpinning
In construction, underpinning is the process of strengthening and stabilizing the foundation of an existing building or other structure. Underpinning may be necessary for a variety of reasons:*The original foundation is simply not strong or stable enough....
the church's foundations. Unusually for stations later converted to escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s, the original lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
access from the ticket hall is still in use.
Central London Railway, 1900
The opening of the eastern terminus of the Central London RailwayCentral London Railway
The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...
(CLR, now the Central line) at Bank followed on 30 July 1900.
As with the C&SLR, the high cost of property in the City, coupled with the presence of the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange (London)
The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and is trapezoidal, flanked by the converging streets of Cornhill and...
, the Bank of England, and Mansion House, meant that the station had to be built entirely underground. Permission was granted by the City of London Corporation for the station to be sited beneath the busy junction of roads meeting at this point on condition that public subways
Subway (underpass)
In England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and some Commonwealth countries , the term subway normally refers to a specially constructed underpass for pedestrians and/or cyclists beneath a road or railway, allowing them to reach the other side in safety.The term is also used in the...
were provided to act as pedestrian road crossings. To avoid undermining the road above, the station's lifts were installed in separate lift shafts rather than paired two-per-shaft as usual.
To avoid wayleave
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
payments to property owners and to lessen possible claims for damage during construction and operation, the CLR tunnels were directly under public streets. This caused the platforms under Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street
Threadneedle Street is a street in the City of London, leading from a junction with Poultry, Cornhill, King William Street and Lombard Street, to Bishopsgate....
and Poultry to be so curved that one end of the platform cannot be seen from the other. East of Bank station the Central line tunnels have sharp curves to avoid the vaults of the Bank of England itself.
Due to the close proximity of the CLR, W&CR and C&SLR stations, and the non-competing directions of their services, their ticket halls were soon connected, but connection between the CLR and C&SLR platforms were made only when escalators were installed in the 1920s.
Monument link, 1933
The southern end of the C&SLR (by then part of the Edgware-Highgate-Morden line) platforms was close to those of Monument station and, on 18 September 1933, a connecting escalator link was opened.Docklands Light Railway, 1991
The Docklands Light RailwayDocklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
built a tunnelled extension to platforms parallel to (but deeper than) the Northern line platforms which opened on 29 July 1991. The DLR platforms were connected at one end to the Central line and at the other to Monument station. A new link between the Waterloo & City and the Central line was excavated which uncovered part of one of the Greathead
James Henry Greathead
James Henry Greathead was an engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railway.-Early life:Greathead was born in Grahamstown, South Africa; of English descent, Greathead's grandfather had emigrated to South Africa in 1820. He was educated at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, and the...
tunnelling shield
Tunnelling shield
A tunnelling shield is a protective structure used in the excavation of tunnels through soil that is too soft or fluid to remain stable during the time it takes to line the tunnel with a support structure of concrete, cast iron or steel...
s used for the Waterloo and City line. This shield forms part of the new passageway, and passengers pass through when transferring between the two lines.
In January 1994 a statue of James Henry Greathead
James Henry Greathead
James Henry Greathead was an engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railway.-Early life:Greathead was born in Grahamstown, South Africa; of English descent, Greathead's grandfather had emigrated to South Africa in 1820. He was educated at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, and the...
was erected outside the station, next to the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange (London)
The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and is trapezoidal, flanked by the converging streets of Cornhill and...
. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
and is positioned on a plinth which hides a ventilation shaft for the Underground.
Notable events
On 11 January 1941, during The BlitzThe Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, 57 people were killed and 69 people were injured when a German bomb hit the Central line ticket hall. The crater, measuring 120 by 100 ft (36.6 by 30.5 m), was covered with a Bailey Bridge
Bailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
for the traffic to pass over. The station itself was closed for two months.
On 7 September 2003, Bank station was used for a disaster training exercise, billed as "the most realistic live disaster exercise of its kind". The event, lasting several hours and involving about 500 police, fire, ambulance and London Underground personnel, was intended to prepare the emergency services for mass decontamination
Mass decontamination
Mass decontamination is the decontamination of large numbers of people, in the event of industrial, accidental, or intentional contamination by toxic, infective, caustic, polluted, or otherwise unhealthful or damaging substances....
in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack.
Bus connections
London BusesLondon Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
routes 8, 11, 15, 21, 23, 25, 26, 40, 43, 76, 133, 141, 242 and 388 and night bus routes N8, N11, N21, N26, N76, N133, N550 and N551 serve the station.
Future developments
The original station had lifts direct to the platforms, but when escalators later cut through the shafts, access for the mobility impaired was lost. The only parts of the station fully accessible are the DLR platforms with lifts from the street (again using part of St. Mary Woolnoth - the rectory). Bank is also one of the most congested stations at peak times on the Underground and so Transport for LondonTransport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) are transforming it significantly, removing some bottlenecks, and improving mobility-impaired access. The station's 15 escalators are being replaced or refurbished with a one-way system in operation in parts of the station. As yet, no completion date for the escalator refurbishment works has been released for the information of passengers who use the station.
A new entrance on Walbrook will provide new escalators and lifts to the Waterloo and City line platforms while TfL are consulting on retunnelling the Northern line platforms, widening them, adding lifts and a new entrance on King William Street. If agreed, work would take place from 2015 to 2021.
External links
- A diagram of the Bank/Monument station complex
- Another diagram (in colour)
- Bank Station from the Open Guide to London
- History of Bank station, including a picture just after the 1941 bomb
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
- More photographs of Bank station
- Photograph and Street View imagery of Monument station
