Deep Level Shelter : Clapham North
During the build-up to WWII, work was being carried out on an
increasingly congested underground rail network, now known better simply as
'The Tube'. The northern line was suffering more so than most, and so the
decision was made to form an 'express' service, that would skip certain
stations. For this to be effective, Two tunnels were excavated running
parallel to the existing lines, bypassing the stations, thus increasing the
speed of service into central London.
However, when WWII kicked off (for want of a better phrase!), another use
was not only suggested, but imposed onto the newly excavated tunnels. The
government needed somewhere secure to run the country, and so the tunnels
were adopted and the little work that had been done was re-started. Work
began on November 27th 1940, with the aim of having the shelters ready by
the following summer.
With each tunnel measuring 16 foot 6" in diameter and about 12,000 foot
long, the calculated capacity was 9,600 people, where the construction cost
would be £15 per head. After shelters began to completed, this was reviewed,
and the capacity was reduced to 8000 people, increasing the cost up to
around £40 per head.
The shelters, originally planned at Clapham South, Clapham Common, Clapham
North, Stockwell, Oval, Goodge Street, Camden Town, Belsize Park, Chancery
Lane and St. Pauls, were opened to the public, although many preferred the
then familiar surroundings of the stations, with maximum capacity never
being reached, with the peak of residency on July 24 1944, with 12,297
sheltering overnight, about one third of total capacity.
As can be expected with any major civil works, things didn't go to plan, and
the government didn't open the shelters to the public until V1 and V2
rockets started falling on London. This new threat of 'Flying Bombs' caused
the government to open these shelters up, staggering the 'release' of the
locations. The table below shows how this release was handled.
| Stockwell |
9th July 1944 |
| Clapham North |
13th July 1944 |
| Camden Town |
16th July 1944 |
| Clapham South |
19th July 1944 |
| Belsize Park |
23rd July 1944 |
| The other 3 remained in government
use, while Oval and St. Pauls were never completed. |
The tunnels at Clapham North are currently vacant, while most are now used as
archival storage locations.
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|
DLS_CLN001 |
DLS_CLN002 |
| Vent Shaft |
Stairwell Down! |
| |
 |
 |
|
DLS_CLN003 |
DLS_CLN004 |
| Looking
back up |
Original Sign |
| |
 |
 |
|
DLS_CLN005 |
DLS_CLN006 |
| Looking up
to the main entrance |
Looking down the lift shaft |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN007 |
DLS_CLN008 |
| The spiral
staircase down from the surface |
Gents Toilets |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN009 |
DLS_CLN010 |
| Ladies
Toilets |
Top Level, Tunnel 1 |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN011 |
DLS_CLN012 |
| Top Level,
Tunnel 1 |
Lower Level, Tunnel 1 |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN013 |
DLS_CLN014 |
| The bottom
of the lift shaft |
Shelter control room |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN015 |
DLS_CLN016 |
| Vent room
and door to control room. |
Vent shaft into vent room |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN017 |
DLS_CLN018 |
| Original
main staircase |
About half-way up |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN019 |
DLS_CLN020 |
| Looking
down |
Bricked off entrance to
clapham north platforms |
| |
 |
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|
DLS_CLN021 |
DLS_CLN022 |
| Top Level,
Tunnel 2 |
Top Level Link Tunnel |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN023 |
DLS_CLN024 |
| Top Level,
Tunnel 1 |
Stairwell linking top and
lower levels |
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|
DLS_CLN025 |
DLS_CLN026 |
| Lower level |
Lower level |
| |
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|
DLS_CLN027 |
DLS_CLN028 |
| Boxes
stacked to calculate maximum capacity for storage use |
Vent tunnel, branching just
from the left of DLS_CLN027 behind air hatch |
| |
 |
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|
DLS_CLN029 |
DLS_CLN030 |
| At the end
of the vent tunnel |
H&S Sign |
|
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|
DLS_CLN031 |
DLS_CLN032 |
| Back at the
exit |
Back up the entrance stairs |
| |
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| DLS_CLN033 |
| Security sign |
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Contact Details
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| Phone |
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| Email |
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| Website |
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| Address |
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