Gloucester Road tube station

Gloucester Road
Entrance on Gloucester Road
Gloucester Road Location of Gloucester Road in Central London
Location	Gloucester Road
Local authority	Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	5
Fare zone	1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2011	14.16 million[1]
2012	14.19 million[1]
2013	14.91 million[1]
2014	11.96 million[1]
Key dates
1868	Opened (MR)
1868	Started (DR)
1869	Opened West Brompton extension (DR)
1872	Started "Outer Circle" (NLR)
1872	Started "Middle Circle" (H&CR/DR)
1900	Ended "Middle Circle"
1906	Opened (GNP&BR)
1908	Ended "Outer Circle"
1949	Started (Circle line)
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
London Transport portalCoordinates: 51°29′41″N 0°10′59″W / 51.4947°N 0.1830°W

Gloucester Road is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. It is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. On the District and Piccadilly lines, the station is between South Kensington and Earl's Court, and on the Circle line, it is between South Kensington and High Street Kensington. It is in London fare zone 1. The station entrance is located close to the junction of Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road. Close by are the Cromwell Hospital and Baden-Powell House.

The station is in two parts: sub-surface platforms, opened in 1868 by the Metropolitan Railway as part of the company's extension of the Inner Circle route from Paddington to South Kensington and to Westminster, and deep-level platforms opened in 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. A variety of underground and main line services have operated over the sub-surface tracks. The deep-level platforms have remained largely unaltered. A disused sub-surface platform features periodic art installations as part of Transport for London's Art on the Underground scheme.

History

Sub-surface station

Ordnance Survey map showing the newly constructed Gloucester Road station, 1869

Original and current layout of platforms

The station was opened as Brompton (Gloucester Road) on 1 October 1868 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR, later the Metropolitan line) when it opened an extension from Praed Street (now Paddington). The station acted as the temporary terminus of the railway until 24 December 1868 when the MR opened tracks to South Kensington to connect to the first section of the District Railway (DR, later the District line) which opened on the same day from South Kensington to Westminster.^[2] The station was provided with four platforms sheltered by an elliptical glazed iron roof. A two-storey station building in cream-coloured brick with arched windows and an ornamental balustrade at roof level was built at the eastern end. Initially, the MR operated all services over both companies' tracks.^[3]

Residential development had been gradually spreading westward from Belgravia since the 1840s, but the area around the station site was mainly in horticultural use as market gardens when the new line was constructed. The planning of the line encouraged the local land owners, including Lord Kensington, to extend Cromwell Road westwards and the opening of Gloucester Road station, stimulated rapid residential development in the surrounding area.^[4]

On 12 April 1869, the DR opened a south-westward extension from Gloucester Road to West Brompton where it opened an interchange station with the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line). At the opening there was no intermediate station – Earl's Court station did not open until 1871 – and the service operated as a shuttle between the two stations.^[5] On 1 August 1870, the DR opened additional tracks between Gloucester Road and South Kensington and the West Brompton shuttle became a through service.^[6]

On 3 July 1871, the DR opened its own tracks between Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington. These tracks, the Cromwell Curve, were opened without Parliamentary authority in an unsuccessful attempt by the DR to improve its share of the revenues between High Street Kensington and South Kensington stations which were divided on the basis of mileage of track owned by the two companies.^{[7][note 1]}

On 1 February 1872, the DR opened a northbound branch from its station at Earl's Court to connect to the West London Extension Joint Railway (WLEJR, now the West London Line) at Addison Road (now Kensington (Olympia)).^[2] From that date the Outer Circle service began running over the DR's tracks. The service was run by the North London Railway (NLR) from its terminus at Broad Street (now demolished) in the City of London via the North London Line to Willesden Junction, then the West London Line to Addison Road and the DR to Mansion House – at that time the eastern terminus of the DR.^[8]

From 1 August 1872, the Middle Circle service also began operations through Gloucester Road, running from Moorgate along the MR's tracks on the north side of the Inner Circle to Paddington, then over the Hammersmith & City Railway (H&CR) track to Latimer Road, then, via a now demolished link, on the WLEJR to Addison Road and the DR to Mansion House. The service was operated jointly by the H&CR and the DR.^[8]

On 30 June 1900, the Middle Circle service was withdrawn between Earl's Court and Mansion House,^[9] and, on 31 December 1908, the Outer Circle service was also shortened to terminate at Earl's Court.^[10] In 1949, the Metropolitan line-operated Inner Circle route was given its own identity on the tube map as the Circle line. In 1907, "Brompton" was dropped from the station's name to bring it into accordance with the deep-level station.^[2]

In the 1970s, the eastbound Circle line platform was taken out of use and the track layout was rearranged to remove the westbound Circle line track and widen the island platform. The eastbound Circle and District lines both serve the north side of the island platform and the westbound Circle line which was redirected to serve the south side of the island platform. The disused platform is used for Art on the Underground installations, often placed into the brick recesses in the northern retaining wall. In the 1990s a deck was constructed above the District and Circle line platforms on which was constructed a shopping mall and apartment building.^[11]

Eastbound view of the Circle and District line platform, before deck was constructed

Modern eastbound view of Circle and District line platforms

Deep-level station

Piccadilly line station building

By the beginning of the 20th century, the DR had been extended to Richmond, Ealing Broadway, Hounslow West and Wimbledon in the west and to New Cross Gate in the east. The southern section of the Inner Circle was suffering considerable congestion between South Kensington and Mansion House, between which stations the DR was running an average of 20 trains per hour with more in the peak periods.^[12]

To relieve the congestion, the DR planned an express deep-level tube line starting from a connection to its sub-surface tracks west of Gloucester Road and running to Mansion House. The tunnels were planned to run about 60 to 70 feet (18–21 m) beneath the existing sub-surface route with only one intermediate stop at Charing Cross (now Embankment). Parliamentary approval was obtained in 1897 but no work was done.^[13][14] In 1898, the DR took over the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) which had a route planned from South Kensington to Piccadilly Circus. The route was modified to join the DR deep-level route at South Kensington.^[15]

Following the purchase of the DR by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London in 1902, the planned DR and B&PCR lines were merged with a third proposed route from the Great Northern and Strand Railway. The DR deep-level route was revised at its western end to continue to Earl's Court and surface to the east of Barons Court.^[16] The deep-level platforms were opened on 15 December 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly line) which ran between Finsbury Park and Hammersmith.^[2] A new surface building for the lifts was designed by Leslie Green with the GNP&BR's distinctive ox-blood red glazed terracotta façade.^[17]

As part of the development over the sub-surface platforms, the station buildings were remodelled internally to share a single entrance and ticket office.^[11] Space in the Piccadilly line building that was formerly used for operational purposes or as the exit to the street is now used for retail purposes. During the 2000s, the deep-level parts of the station underwent refurbishment with areas of damaged wall tiles being replaced.^[18] The dark green and cream tiled walls of the Piccadilly line's lower level passages and platforms were restored, with damaged tiles being replaced by reproductions to match the original designs.

On 24 May 1957 Teresa Lubienska, a Polish Countess who had survived Auschwitz concentration camp, was stabbed five times on the eastbound Piccadilly line platform and died shortly afterwards. Her attacker was never caught.^[19]

Services

The station is in London fare zone 1. On the District and Piccadilly lines, the station is between Earl's Court and South Kensington, and on the Circle line, it is between High Street Kensington and South Kensington. Gloucester Road is the westernmost interchange between these three lines, although the tube map promotes the easier interchange at South Kensington.^[20] Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally District line trains operate every 2–6 minutes from approximately 05:15 to 00:30 eastbound and 06:00 to 00:45 westbound; they are supplemented by Circle line trains every 8–12 minutes from approximately 05:20 to 00:30 clockwise and 05:15 to 00:15 anticlockwise. Piccadilly line trains operate every 2–6 minutes from approximately 05:40 to 00:25 eastbound and 05:55 to 00:40 westbound.^[21][22]

On the Piccadilly line 1973 Stock is used. On the Circle line S Stock is used and on the District line D78 Stock. The District Line also uses S Stock, which is being introduced to replace the D78 Stock by 2016.^[23][24][25]

Connections

London Buses routes 49 and 74 and night routes N74 and N97 serve the station.^[26][27]

Notes and references

Notes

1. Although the Cromwell Curve was not often used, the dispute between the DR and MR continued until 1903.^[7]

References

1. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLS). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
2. Rose 1999.
3. Horne 2006, p. 8.
4. Hobhouse 1986, pp. 395–413.
5. Horne 2006, p. 9.
6. Horne 2006, p. 11.
7. Horne 2006, p. 14.
8. Horne 2006, p. 15.
9. Horne 2006, p. 30.
10. Horne 2006, p. 44.
11. Horne 2006, p. 95.
12. Wolmar 2005, p. 108.
13. Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 70–71.
14. The London Gazette: no. 26881. pp. 4481–4483. 10 August 1897. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
15. Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 85.
16. Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 215.
17. Wolmar 2005, p. 175.
18. "London Underground Projects". Craven Dunnill Jackfield. March 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
19. "18,000 Interviewed In Murder Hunt". The Times (53924). 20 August 1957. p. 4. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
20. "Standard tube map" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
21. "Timetables". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
22. "First and last Tube". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
23. "S Stock trains take to Circle line". Global Rail New. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
24. "District pips Circle to the post". Modern Railways 70 (781): 12. October 2013.
25. Waboso, David (December 2010). "Transforming the tube". Modern Railways (London). pp. 42–45.
26. "Central London bus map" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
27. "Central London night bus map" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 24 April 2010.

Bibliography

• Badsey-Ellis, Antony (2005). London's Lost Tube Schemes. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-293-3.
• Hobhouse (ed.), Hermione (1986). "CHAPTER XXIV - Southern Kensington in Retrospect". Survey of London: volume 42: Kensington Square to Earl's Court. English Heritage.
• Horne, Mike (2006). The District Line. Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-292-5.
• Rose, Douglas (1999) [1980]. The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History. Douglas Rose/Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-219-4.
• Wolmar, Christian (2005) [2004]. The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever. Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-84354-023-1.

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Gloucester Road station, 1868
  • View of sub-surface platforms, 1913
  • Piccadilly line station building, 1925
  • Booking hall of sub-surface platforms, 1928
  • Piccadilly line booking hall, 1928
  • Gloucester Road station, 1939
  • View of platforms looking east, 1982
  • Booking hall, 2001