It faced opposition from the outset and eventually shut as a Tube station – only to serve a far more important purpose
Once, long ago, a brand new London Underground station was built in the heart of Mayfair, but the well-heeled locals didn’t exactly welcome it. After all, they had far more luxurious means of getting around.
The proposal for Down Street station was met with fierce opposition from residents who were far from happy about having a Tube station right on their doorstep. They feared it would attract “undesirables” to the neighbourhood.
Despite this resistance, the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway pressed ahead with their plans to build the station. The line, which closely resembles today’s Piccadilly line, had ambitions for the entrance to be situated on the main road — a goal they maintained for all stations along the route.
However, owing to local pressure, they were forced to settle for a building on a side street instead. When it opened on March 15 1907, it seemed all the effort had been in vain, as the station struggled with poor passenger numbers right from the start.
Its tucked-away location and proximity to more convenient stations such as Hyde Park Corner and Dover Street only made matters worse. By 1932, Down Street station had closed its doors to the public.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
The station proved remarkably useful following its closure. In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, it was transformed into an underground refuge for the Railway Executive Committee, the body tasked with keeping the railways running throughout the conflict.
The vast tunnels of the former Down Street station were converted into offices, bathrooms, dining rooms and dormitories. According to Atlas Obscura, the corridors were barely wide enough for a tea trolley to navigate.
Yet there was another remarkable secret lurking within. To access the bunker, one would enter at street level through the original building, though an alternative escape route also existed.
A small section of the former platform remained in use. Trains travelling along the line would pass through this point, and should an executive place a red lamp there, the next train would come to a halt.
There was just enough room for them to board alongside the driver, no questions asked. Fellow passengers would have had no idea why the train had stopped, as only a tiny stretch of the original platform remained intact.
Given the considerable security of the former Down Street bunker, Winston Churchill himself, along with several members of his government, made use of it before the Cabinet War Rooms in Westminster were completed. He fondly referred to it as ‘The Barn’.
After the war, London Transport took ownership of the Down Street bunker, utilising it for engineering access and as an emergency exit point.
While many of the offices have since been stripped out, those situated on the platforms remain standing. The London Transport Museum now runs guided tours of this fascinating abandoned Underground station.
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