The Story of St Paul's Tube Station | Hidden London Hangouts (S05E05)
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- In this episode the team explore a station on the Central line that has moved, changed its name and acted as a bunker during the Second World War. Behind the grime, they discover elegant designs, surviving tiles and beautiful posters in the Museum's collection.
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Nice to hear Alex remembers the power station in Greenwich. It was alongside Deptford Creek. As a nipper, my family lived in Thames St. My Father worked as a Steward on ocean liners until he married Mum. He told me that as the ships approached that power station, the Stewards would cover all the silverware, as otherwise the fumes from the power station would turn it all black. That station closed around 1975, I think. There was also a gasworks nearby. Remembering that, it's remarkable how London's air has become so much cleaner.
Crossley was a Cincinnati Ohio company that made cars, radios, etc., etc. Well known in the 20's and 30's. Also Cincinnati has the largest abandoned (and never used!) Subway system in the world!
Yes! I had no idea the Cincinnati subway existed until recently. The photos kind of remind me of the Kingsway tram tunnels. You could apparently take tours of it up until 2016 or so through the Cincinnati Museum center, but is now considered too unsafe. I’m guessing that’s probably due to people breaking in and hiding out down there rather than being structurally unsafe, since they still use it to run a water main and fiber optic cables.
@@ljrigsbee genuinely fascinating. I had no idea about the Cincinnati disused underground.
@@chrisnix6352 The tunnels are over 2 miles long with several stations. One station was converted into a fallout shelter in the 1960s. They are cut and cover underneath the streets, so they have no choice but to structurally maintain them. There are, of course, very naughty Urbex video tours of the system.
Always great to see you feature a station which I've used on a regular basis myself. You'd think of St. Paul's as quite a small station with very little to reveal, particularly as it's not an interchange station. So to see so much behind closed doors was wonderful. Although I was very curious to know why there were so many social distancing signs on the walls of what are disused passages. Some of which look like they may have damaged some of the remaining poster fragments. But I wonder also how long they will stay undisturbed, only to be discovered and discussed by a future Hidden London Hangout team, say in 2092.
It is interesting to see all the covid-era social-distancing signs now added to the station's archaeology. Presumably the passages are used often enough to make the signs needed, but not often enough to insist on a general clean-up of the dust on health-and-safety grounds.
Another lovely episode.
Just some additional information for Alex.
The lifts went 82 ft to street level.
The 5th lift in the smaller shaft (the one Siddy called the spiral stair shaft), was actually only used for CLR parcel traffic that came from the General Post Office and transported by tube to destinations on the central line, another ingenious way to make even more money ! Once the general post office closed in 1911, it went to passenger use until 1939.
Regards and good luck cleaning those tiles!
That’s interesting as the fourth shaft on the plans is labelled as vent only.
Nice to see behind the scenes. A bit of backgropund... the CEB electricity control room equipment was moved from 85 Park Street SE1, built as the new National Control and opened in 1937. The control panel was already curved, so they managed to rejig it into the liftshaft. Wynford Vaughan Thomas visited and did a radio programme describing it all, which was printed as a book. In 1950 it was all moved just above ground to temporary buildings in Paternoster Square, still curved like the liftshaft! Replaced in 1958 with rooms at Bankside House (opposite Bankside power station, and now student accomodation) until a new National Control opened at... 85 Park Street, in 1967. It was all metering and phones, no actual controls as such. National spoke to the Area Controls, told them to generate less or more than their local demand, hence managed the bulk flow round the country without having to worry about the small detail. Very clever way of breaking a difficult task into a series of managable stages. I found photos of this at work for National Grid, a colleague retired and left a box of photos.
Thanks for this … like I said in the live chat, used to use this station regularly when I worked for BT - at 81 Newgate Street and 5 Cheapside.
I was at BT too.
Great episode as always, really enjoyed it. At first I thought Chris Nix was sitting in a toilet cubicle, until Alex pointed out the filing cabinets.
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At 14.43 the station still looked in the 60's 70's, I can remember the corrugated roof still being in place.
Another cracking episode. What really struck me with the wonderful relief tiles at the end - your programme shows such things spanning the whole history of the Underground, from early glass and ceramic tiling where we wonder about the craftsmanship of laying them, through to things like the beautiful relief tiles from later years but still long ago, and right up to date with the brand new Elisabeth Line and its equally stunning contemporary decor.
The Lifts on the underground deserves a video to themselves , they were quite fascinating the roping arrangement and design of them.
Another regular station that I use myself, so I look forward to seeing behind the scenes.
Alex, Chris and Laura, I got a surprise seeing this, as I hadn’t seen a promo on RUclips to set to be reminded to watch, will watch this again, as after work, was on the computer, and could do two things at once…
Great broadcast, as always! This reminds me of how this station used to fascinate me as a child, on visits to the cathedral etc., because I found it difficult to get my head round how we had to go up two escalators to get out of the station, but only down one escalator to go home again. I'd never heard of wayleave at that point!
So glad our little shows teach you stuff like way leave. Makes it all worthwhile
Another brilliant episode so fascinating. I’ve come to realise that the muckier the station the more interesting it is. Also, I love it when you get a glimpse of 2022 when you’re exploring backstage. Keep up the good work.
Fab isn’t it! Old meets new!
It’s time travel
Can't wait for Season 6 to see what it looks like after Alex has finished cleaning!
Season 66! Was taking me an age. Nearly whipped out my Kärcher!
i love these secret places
44:51 Love the understated
Chin up, we can bare it
style reference to
"A new view of St. Paul's Cathedral from Bread Street"
as much as to say
Couldn't see this view before could we?
Great.
P.S. Laura, it's a plane, probably a Luftwaffe Bomber's vapour trail, not a cloud.
This is a REALLY grubby, grimy place. But grimy history is just incredible and can be washed off afterwards 🤣 (The things you do for us. Thank you!)
Sorry I had to miss the live premiere tonight, I remember the "St Paul's (Post Office)" sign, now behind Chris, when it was in situ on the station. It was at the eastern end of the Westbound platform, on one of the pillars! It was finally removed donkey's years after the name change, during the platform refurbishments in the 80's.
If I am counting correctly, this is video number 80 (unless "ANYBODY" would like to correct me)!
Well done to you all for still doing these!
I am loving these so much!😁😁
I love the powder blue roundel!
Another great episode, great history.
If I ever want to find you I know I just have to follow the little patches of cleaned off tiles.
St Paul's got to be the best one so far only because my name is Paul 😉, fantastic episode thank you team 💖
Watching now after missing the premiere as I was occupied listening to Liverpool v West Ham, for me it's a return to form with lots of lovely tilage 😊
Welcome back!
Great Episode, thank you. I am not sure if you have filmed at Charing Cross and the old Trafalgar Square underground station. that would be great if you can. if you have not already been there of course.Thanks to you four lovely people. I got through the pandemic. your chemistry is brilliant and you cheer us up. thanks again Fantastic Four.
Yup we’ve done both. Charing in series 1 and Traf in series 2 😉
@@alexgrundon2346Thanks, Alex. I will go and watch it somehow I missed it. Thanks Again.
I had to wait over two hours for a train at ST Paul’s station During the night tube strikes absolutely pain
You should have grabbed a cloth and cleaned a few tiles as you waited….
Great video guys. Was it not Crossley & Sons on the iron work lettering? They were a huge carpet maker at the time. Their stores sold carpets and other high end home ware, from my little knowledge.
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Great tour, hard to take it all in, so watched it three times, going to watch it until it sinks in, did try to find out who designed that 1933 new station building, that looked like it had been built out of breeze blocks?, would have to do some digging, amazing how St. Paul’s had changed in all that time, did the original station building still stand please?. It’s been a while since visiting that area, can’t wait to see where you will be going next time, as London’s a big place with so much history, with the team bringing it all to life ✔️☑️✔️
Great show guys, how about going to Southgate station So UFO looks amazing in black and white photos
Great video tour, as always. By the way I don’t think those columns are Doric, they’re corinthian. On a beautiful symmetrical Classical architecture building. Or Neo Classical.
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All that dirt on the walls and no one drew a little picture of a cat.
Or even a Chad!
As members of the LT museum does the museum have any say so when stations are refurbished to try and retain anything of historical importance/ significance to each station.
Shouldn't the museum be collecting those old tiles that are about to fall? I don't know how things work in London, but in Finland there is this museovirasto that assigns protection to most old buildings and usually nothing can be changed and everything has to be maintained and repaired the same way it was built. So no new tiles unless it's the only option and in that case those tiles have to be manufactured the same way as originally. A stockpile of old tiles and everything else that can be reused could lower the cost of future renovations.
As someone who's favourite period of British history is ww2 and differently life on the home front I was fascinated by the information about the bunker offices and the old lift shafts something fascinating about all the tiles on the underground I honestly think someone at the museum should release a book called tiles of the underground think about all that history colour and architecture and as for the beautiful poster of st. Paul's with rubble it reminds of something I was told a few years ago about a particular raid that took place during the blitz on London during December 1940 from 29th to 30th of December 1940 an event that will go down in history known as the second Great fire of London fires started by the raid included an incendiary bomb broke through the Dome of st. Paul's cathedral which was being guarded by a firewatch team at the behest of prime minister Winston Churchill it was struck by 28 incendiary bombs In total that night and Winston Churchill sent a now message that "St Paul's must be saved at all costs" I'll leave that for you Alex and the team to think about once again another incredible thank you so much p.s. Alex when are we going to do some tile cleaning it looks like there's plenty of work to do at St Paul's definitely one of the filthiest places I've ever seen in a RUclips video I hope you all had you're inoculations before entering but yes definitely I agree with you Alex on the grounds some parts of it do look very much like Victorian Sewers and thank you all once again
Funnily enough Paul there is a book, now out of print, called Tiles of the Unexpected. Was really good but really expensive. I have a copy. I keep saying I’m going to write a book and never get round to it…maybe on tiles, maybe on the tube… maybe on moquette. We’ll see.
@@alexgrundon2346 you shouldn't she call it something like Alex and the tube, The Tube Alex explores, The Tube Please Bring Wet Wipes. All which could could possibly include all of those subjects and for the journey into why the lines and stations look and feel the way they do and why
What happened to yesterday's episode...?
Hope all are well.
All good. See other comment.
I heard Alex on Jo Good BBC Radio London show (missed the first bit) Any closer on getting Jo to join you on a Hidden London Hangout
So kind of you to listen to Jo and to follow us! That’s a great question. Need to follow this up actually. Wonder where we’ll take her….
@@alexgrundon2346 If it is to a place like your latest video, Jo would have to wear a bright orange boiler suit to stay clean
Climbing up to the top platform, there is lettering on the upper part of the wall on the short flight of stairs, stating "PAPAD... NDON 03", and lower down and to the right "HOSS/NAAIERS/RAAK/WYS". Any idea what these mean? The top set seem to be a proper font, whereas the lower appears to be hand painted.
I wonder if they are codes for kit required by engineers (permanent way engineers)
18:58 PAGAD LONDON 05 in the classic style of a Tag.
Not painted I'd say but cd even be a wet (gloved?) finger cleaning through the dirt as there's less clarity in the LONDON bit as there's less dirt.
Also there's PRADA just underneath the date part of the Tag and then I/JPM &c. obvs.
Hope that this helps.
Are there old lifts left in place at any stations?
Old lifts? Like disused lifts? No - they are removed when they stop being in service generally
Don't fear a dirty passage...
Fear it? We run at it 😉
@@alexgrundon2346 I'm sure you do, it's right up your alley!
I think there is an opportunity for TfL to create an income from converting unused parts of their built assets (underground stations etc.) as either temporary, ‘drop in’, or permanent offices for small businesses. For example if my business could operate for three days a week from St.Pancras/Kings Cross I would definitely consider it in order to have a London business address. Full internet and mobile phone access might be a challenge though.
I suspect insurance and a whole host of other things would stop it happening. Also, many of these spaces are in use as stores for the maintenance teams. But yours is an interesting idea
I hope everything is OK, as I thought there was a new episode due this week (13 March). Take care everyone.
All safe but had to pause to make something super special. And it worked. Cracking episode to come!
You all being safe is the most important thing in this difficult World, but I will look forward to watching the new episode late on Saturday night.
ST. PAULS (full stop, no apostrophe) > ST PAUL'S (apostrophe, no full stop). What's the history of the way the punctuation has appeared on the St Paul's station signs and notices?
I see The three d tlye before
I just spent 15 minutes trying to translate the graffiti on the wall at 29 minutes in ends in raak wys
Ask TOX 23!
So much grime.
What is Siddy Accent is she American
Icelandic
Geez nobody watches this type of thing for personal information about the presenters. Absolutely unwatchable
Lockdown inveigled its fascination with the everyday in myriad ways.
I see The three d tlye before