St. Paul's tube station

St Paul's 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.

The station should not be confused with City Thameslink station which opened in 1990 as "St Paul's Thameslink" but is some distance from the underground station. That station was subsequently renamed "City Thameslink" to avoid confusion for the emergency services but for years afterwards many maps and guidebooks in circulation continued to carry the earlier name.

History

The station was opened by the Central London Railway (CLR) on 30 July 1900 with the name Post Office after the headquarters of the General Post Office on St Martin's le Grand. The station name was possibly chosen instead of the more obvious "St Paul's" to differentiate it from a South Eastern Railway station of that name (now Blackfriars station).

The station entrance was originally located on the north side of Newgate Street on the west side of the junction with King Edward Street but was moved to the east when the station was modernised in the 1930s with a below ground ticket hall and escalators. A modern ventilation shaft in the centre of the traffic island at the junction indicates the location of the original lift shafts. "Post Office" received its present name after the other "St Paul's" station was renamed to "Blackfriars" in 1937.

At the end of the 19th century, Newgate Street was a narrow road with some of its mediaeval character remaining. To reduce land purchase and compensation payments the CLR routed its tunnels directly under public roads. At St Paul's the narrowness of the road required the tunnels to be placed one above the other with the westbound tunnel uppermost. The lifts originally operated to a level between the two platforms with stairs up or down to the platforms as necessary. A high-level access passage way is visible at the lowest level leading to the disused lift lobby.

The station today

The station entrances are located around the junction of Newgate Street, Cheapside and St Martin's le Grand and takes its current name from nearby St Paul's Cathedral, a short distance to the south. Visitors should note that the main entrance to the Cathedral is at its west end, a few minutes' walk away. As of summer 2008, the entrance and platforms are undergoing refurbishment.

Transport connections

London Buses routes 4, 8, 25, 56, 100, 172, 242 and 521 serve the station.

External links

* [http://underground-history.co.uk/hiddenbits.php Abandoned stations] - Section on disused lift access passage
* [http://photos.ltmcollection.org London Transport Museum Photographic Archive]
** ltmcollection|77/9888677.jpg|Original station building, 1914
** ltmcollection|26/9864326.jpg|Original ticket hall, 1929
** ltmcollection|18/9886618.jpg|Sub-surface ticket hall, 1939
** ltmcollection|75/9866875.jpg|1930s Newgate Street entrance, 1939
** ltmcollection|93/9891193.jpg|Newgate Street entrance showing bomb damage, 1943

Gallery

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