Dover Street: Alight Here for Green Park...

Last weekend Stuart, Darce and I ventured down into the bowels of the (current) Green Park tube station to explore the Hidden London station that was (previously called) Dover Street. 

 

And it was fantastic.

 

Opened in 1906, Dover Street station was built to serve the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway – the Piccadilly line as we know it today. 

 

Located on the edge of Mayfair and in the vicinity of three of London’s Royal Parks, it became one of the busiest stations on the line. So busy that in 1933 they needed to move the main entrance from Dover St across the road to Green Park and so quickly renamed the station itself to be ‘Green Park’ too.

 

The guided tour was fab. It took us into 'a station hidden within a station' with its fascinating stories of wartime intrigue, the art that was hidden in the former passageways and lift landings - many of them closed to passengers for decades - and finally to the strikingly vast ventilation shafts and ribbed corridors.

 

As with other tours in the Hidden London stable, we got to see original 1930s vintage signs and tiles that still adorned the walls.

 

We heard how Dover Street played a pivotal role during the Second World War, offering a place for the London Transport Executive Board to safely meet during air raids and helping ensure that the Underground’s operations continued to run. 

 

We saw the 'posh' space where Lord Ashfield, then chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board, had his bedroom secretly fitted at the heart of the station.

 

We also learnt how in the 1960s and 1970s, Green Park expanded to accommodate two post-war lines, the Victoria and Jubilee lines and their role in modernising London’s ageing transport infrastructure in the post-war economic boom.

 

The real 'wow' though was the impressive large ventilation tunnels that hide behind the platforms of Jubilee line to provide essential air cooling to both the Victoria and Jubilee lines. 

 

Darce was wowing with delight was we three peered down on the tube trains through the secret ventilation shafts affording us a unique view of the passengers below. A vantage point normally closed to the public.

 

One of the best tours the London Transport Museum runs.