London deep-level shelters
Encyclopedia
The London deep-level shelters are eight deep-level air-raid shelter
s that were built under London Underground
stations during World War II
.
and Central Line
s. Each tunnel is of a diameter much larger than that usually used for running tunnels, but smaller than that used for the platform tunnels, hence they were constructed at the stations that would have been bypassed on the high-speed lines. However, 16 ft running tunnels were used for the Northern City Line
opened in 1904, since it had been intended to run main-line trains here (a plan not realised until 1976).
Ten shelters were planned, but only eight were completed. These are at:
The two which were not completed were at St. Paul's tube station
and Oval tube station
. The working shaft for the shelter at Oval now functions as a ventilation shaft for the station.
The shelters were started in 1940 and completed in 1942. They were originally all used by the government, but as bombing intensified five of them were opened to the public in 1944: Stockwell, Clapham North, Camden Town, Belsize Park and Clapham South. The Goodge Street shelter was used by General Eisenhower
, and the Chancery Lane shelter was used as a communications centre.
After the war, the Goodge Street shelter continued to be used by the army until the 1950s, and the Chancery Lane shelter was converted into Kingsway telephone exchange
, as well as being expanded to serve as a Cold War
government shelter.
arrived in Tilbury in 1948 carrying 492 immigrants from Jamaica. London had a severe labour shortage after the war and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Jamaica. An advertisement had appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK, for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50), for anyone who wanted to come to work in the UK. At that time, there were no immigration restrictions for citizens of one part of the British Empire
moving to another part. The Windrush was quickly filled. As there was no accommodation for the new arrivals, the Colonial Office housed them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South
was on Coldharbour Lane, Brixton
and so the men sought jobs here. Brixton became the focus for West Indian settlement from that point onwards, with successive arrivals making their way to the nascent community in Brixton
. The actual time the shelters were occupied by the immigrants from the Caribbean
was relatively short, as all of the men found jobs within three weeks. However, the impact of their arrival on the area was dramatic and long-lasting, the origins of the multi-racial community in South London.
In 1998, an area of public open space in Brixton
was renamed Windrush Square to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the West Indians.
The Goodge Street shelter appeared in studio mock-up form in the 1968 BBC Doctor Who
story The Web of Fear
, while the real location appeared as itself in the 1988 feature film Hidden City
, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff
.
The Camden Town shelter was used to represent parts of Oval tube station
in the 1976 two-part story The Lights of London in the BBC television series Survivors
. The director of the second episode was Pennant Roberts
, who subsequently directed the 1977 Doctor Who story The Sunmakers, in which the same shelter was used for scenes set in tunnels under Pluto
. Roberts subsequently worked on the BBC series Blake's 7
, in which the shelter was used to for the interior of the titular artificial planet in the 1980 story Ultraworld, although the episode itself was directed by Vere Lorrimer
. The shelter was also used to represent parts of a secret underground facility in the vicinity of Down Street tube station
in the 2005 feature film Creep
.
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
s that were built under London Underground
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...
stations during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Background
Each tunnel consists of a pair of parallel tunnels 16 in 6 in (5.03 m) in diameter and 1200 feet (365.8 m) long. Each tunnel is subdivided into two decks, and each shelter was designed to hold up to 8,000 people. It was planned that after the war the shelters would be used as part of new express tube lines paralleling parts of the existing NorthernNorthern 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 Central Line
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...
s. Each tunnel is of a diameter much larger than that usually used for running tunnels, but smaller than that used for the platform tunnels, hence they were constructed at the stations that would have been bypassed on the high-speed lines. However, 16 ft running tunnels were used for the Northern City Line
Northern City Line
The Northern City Line is a railway line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park in London, once part of the Great Northern Electrics line. It should not be confused with the City branch of the Northern line, nor with the North London Line...
opened in 1904, since it had been intended to run main-line trains here (a plan not realised until 1976).
- Belsize Park tube stationBelsize Park tube stationBelsize Park tube station is a London Underground station in Belsize Park, North-West London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line, between Chalk Farm and Hampstead stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It is located at the northern end of Haverstock Hill...
- Camden Town tube stationCamden Town tube stationCamden Town tube station is a major junction on the Northern Line and one of the busiest stations on the London Underground network...
- Goodge Street tube stationGoodge Street tube stationGoodge Street is a London Underground station on Tottenham Court Road. It is on the Northern Line between Tottenham Court Road and Warren Street, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.-History:...
- Chancery Lane tube stationChancery Lane tube stationChancery Lane is a London Underground station in central London. It is on the Central Line between St. Paul's and Holborn stations. The station is located at the junction of High Holborn, Hatton Garden and Gray's Inn Road with subway entrances giving access to the ticket office under the roadway...
- Stockwell tube stationStockwell tube stationStockwell tube station is a London Underground station in Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is located on the Northern Line between Oval and Clapham North, and on the Victoria Line between Brixton and Vauxhall. It is the southernmost station on the London Undergound that serves more...
- Clapham North tube stationClapham North tube stationClapham North tube station is an Underground station in Clapham, London. It is on the Northern Line between Clapham Common and Stockwell. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2 and is close to Clapham High Street railway station, although there is no direct interchange link...
- Clapham Common tube stationClapham Common tube stationClapham Common tube station is a station on London Underground's Northern Line. It lies between Clapham North and Clapham South stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2.-History:...
- Clapham South tube stationClapham South tube stationClapham South tube station is a station on London Underground's Northern Line between and Balham stations. The station is located at the corner of Balham Hill and Nightingale Lane...
The two which were not completed were at St. Paul's tube station
St. Paul's tube station
St. Paul's tube station is a London Underground station in the City of London on the Central Line, between Bank and Chancery Lane stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 1....
and Oval tube station
Oval tube station
Oval tube station in Kennington is a station on the Northern line of the London Underground between Stockwell and Kennington stations. It is the only station on the Morden branch of the Northern line whose name begins with a vowel and is one of only two stations on the London Underground with only...
. The working shaft for the shelter at Oval now functions as a ventilation shaft for the station.
The shelters were started in 1940 and completed in 1942. They were originally all used by the government, but as bombing intensified five of them were opened to the public in 1944: Stockwell, Clapham North, Camden Town, Belsize Park and Clapham South. The Goodge Street shelter was used by General Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, and the Chancery Lane shelter was used as a communications centre.
After the war, the Goodge Street shelter continued to be used by the army until the 1950s, and the Chancery Lane shelter was converted into Kingsway telephone exchange
Kingsway telephone exchange
Kingsway telephone exchange was a Cold War-era hardened telephone exchange underneath High Holborn in London.-History:The Kingsway telephone exchange was built as a deep-level shelter underneath Chancery Lane tube station in the early 1940s...
, as well as being expanded to serve as a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
government shelter.
Changing the face of London
The Clapham South shelter changed the face of London in 1948. The MV Empire WindrushMV Empire Windrush
The Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury on 22 June 1948, carrying 493 passengers from Jamaica wishing to start a new life in the United Kingdom. The passengers were the first large group of West Indian immigrants to the UK after the Second World War.Before 1948, the ship, under the name of Monte...
arrived in Tilbury in 1948 carrying 492 immigrants from Jamaica. London had a severe labour shortage after the war and the Colonial Office sought to recruit a labour force from Jamaica. An advertisement had appeared in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner on 13 April 1948 offering transport to the UK, for a fare of £28.10s (£28.50), for anyone who wanted to come to work in the UK. At that time, there were no immigration restrictions for citizens of one part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
moving to another part. The Windrush was quickly filled. As there was no accommodation for the new arrivals, the Colonial Office housed them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South.
The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South
Clapham South tube station
Clapham South tube station is a station on London Underground's Northern Line between and Balham stations. The station is located at the corner of Balham Hill and Nightingale Lane...
was on Coldharbour Lane, Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
and so the men sought jobs here. Brixton became the focus for West Indian settlement from that point onwards, with successive arrivals making their way to the nascent community in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
. The actual time the shelters were occupied by the immigrants from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
was relatively short, as all of the men found jobs within three weeks. However, the impact of their arrival on the area was dramatic and long-lasting, the origins of the multi-racial community in South London.
In 1998, an area of public open space in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
was renamed Windrush Square to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the West Indians.
In popular culture
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. This serial — which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers — is the sequel to The Abominable...
, while the real location appeared as itself in the 1988 feature film Hidden City
Hidden City
Hidden City is a film written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff for Film4 Productions in 1987. It starred Charles Dance, Cassie Stuart, Richard E. Grant and Bill Paterson.-External links:*...
, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
.
The Camden Town shelter was used to represent parts of Oval tube station
Oval tube station
Oval tube station in Kennington is a station on the Northern line of the London Underground between Stockwell and Kennington stations. It is the only station on the Morden branch of the Northern line whose name begins with a vowel and is one of only two stations on the London Underground with only...
in the 1976 two-part story The Lights of London in the BBC television series Survivors
Survivors
Survivors is a British post-apocalyptic fiction television series devised by Terry Nation and produced by Terence Dudley at the BBC from 1975 to 1977...
. The director of the second episode was Pennant Roberts
Pennant Roberts
Pennant Roberts was a British director noted for his work on British television.Roberts was born at Weston-super-Mare to Welsh parents...
, who subsequently directed the 1977 Doctor Who story The Sunmakers, in which the same shelter was used for scenes set in tunnels under Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
. Roberts subsequently worked on the BBC series Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
, in which the shelter was used to for the interior of the titular artificial planet in the 1980 story Ultraworld, although the episode itself was directed by Vere Lorrimer
Vere Lorrimer
Vere Lorrimer was a British television producer and director.His work as director included many BBC dramas including Compact, Dixon of Dock Green, Doomwatch and Blake's 7....
. The shelter was also used to represent parts of a secret underground facility in the vicinity of Down Street tube station
Down Street tube station
Down Street, also known as Down Street , is a disused station of the London Underground's Piccadilly line which closed in 1932. During World War II it was used as an air-raid shelter, notably by Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet.-History:...
in the 2005 feature film Creep
Creep (film)
Creep is a 2004 British horror film about a woman locked in overnight on the London Underground who finds herself being stalked by a hideously deformed killer living in the sewers below...
.
See also
- Civil defence centres in LondonCivil defence centres in LondonDuring the Cold War every London Borough was obliged to have a Civil Defence centre. These were controversial structures as it was widely believed that planning for the aftermath of nuclear war was both expensive and pointless....
- Military citadels under LondonMilitary citadels under LondonA number of military citadels are known to have been constructed underground in central London, dating mostly from the Second World War and the Cold War...
- Subterranean LondonSubterranean LondonThe metropolis of London has been occupied for millennia, and has over that time acquired a large number of subterranean structures.These have served a number of purposes:-Water and waste:Since its foundation, the Thames has been at the heart of London...
- Blast shelterBlast shelterA blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
- Air raid shelter