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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2014 17:58:57 GMT
I was reading a book my girlfriend got me for Christmas last night, and read a section on Brompton Road tube station being used during the war. It had a lot of information on the layout of the station etc, and mentioned a passageway that was at the bottom of one of the lift shafts. This is what it said, 'Pencil marks on a London Transport plan reproduced on page 45 of London's Disused Underground Stations indicate that a separate exit was constructed to Brompton Square, to the north-east and user of the building confirms that a pedestrian tunnel runs from the lift overrun pits to a rotting wooden staircase to ground level. The exit appears to be a squat brick structure with a concrete cap and small door next to an electricity kiosk inside the railings of Brompton Square, facing Brompton Road.' Does anybody know anymore about this, or have any photos of it? I can't find it on google street view or anything. I find secret tunnels etc fascinating that's why i always enquire about things like this  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 8:39:11 GMT
I was reading a book my girlfriend got me for Christmas last night, and read a section on Brompton Road tube station being used during the war. It had a lot of information on the layout of the station etc, and mentioned a passageway that was at the bottom of one of the lift shafts. This is what it said, 'Pencil marks on a London Transport plan reproduced on page 45 of London's Disused Underground Stations indicate that a separate exit was constructed to Brompton Square, to the north-east and user of the building confirms that a pedestrian tunnel runs from the lift overrun pits to a rotting wooden staircase to ground level. The exit appears to be a squat brick structure with a concrete cap and small door next to an electricity kiosk inside the railings of Brompton Square, facing Brompton Road.' Does anybody know anymore about this, or have any photos of it? I can't find it on google street view or anything. I find secret tunnels etc fascinating that's why i always enquire about things like this Which book did you see this in; London's Disused Underground Stations, or another publication? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 15:49:10 GMT
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Post by murph9000 on Feb 18, 2014 20:15:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2014 10:50:08 GMT
Andrew is a good friend of mine, so I will e-mail a link to this thread, as he is not a member here. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2014 0:01:17 GMT
Andrew is a good friend of mine, so I will e-mail a link to this thread, as he is not a member here. Cool, I can honestly say that it is the joint first best book I have ever read. So interesting |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2014 7:42:28 GMT
Andrew is a good friend of mine, so I will e-mail a link to this thread, as he is not a member here. Cool, I can honestly say that it is the joint first best book I have ever read. So interesting Andrew sent me the following in an email to post here: A little way north-east of the station building is a square on the north side of Brompton Road. It is called Brompton Square and has a roadway with houses on either side of a park or lawn enclosed by the two roadways. Map at www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=50007&filename=fig10.gif&pubid=365This url may (or may not) show the place: www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.497387,-0.167949,3a,75y,270h,101.7t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s9NFTDE-Gc4F40nnvGqOQeg!2e0 If you look at www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH3#Y3A9NTEuNDk3OTE5fi0wLjE2ODg3MiZsdmw9MTgmc3R5PXI= , it is or was more or less behind the utility cabinets at the back of the pavement. If you look on the right-hand side of the photo you will see a clump of shrubbery and trees that are growing at the south-east end of the park. When I visited the location about ten years ago the shrubbery was far less dense, just a low hedge that you could look over, into the park. Anyway, the supposed exit was just inside the park grounds, not very far away from the pavement. If you look at the map www.british-history.ac.uk/image.aspx?compid=50007&filename=fig10.gif&pubid=365 , it stands (or stood, just above the N of BROMPTON ROAD. In theory the structure would be visible at the very left-hand edge of this photo: media.rightmove.co.uk/70k/69815/39299362/69815_3908_IMG_00_0000.jpgThe structure was oblong, about 7ft x 5ft in footprint. It was build of brick, about 4ft tall, with a concrete slab covering the whole thing. I would be surprised if it has been demolished but I dare say it’s fairly inconspicuous these days and hidden inside all the greenery. I shall ask a colleague who may have taken a photograph. Evidently Nick Catford didn’t, which is unusual for him! Regards, Andrew Emmerson. |
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Post by nickf on Feb 20, 2014 10:01:36 GMT
As an interested observer to this thread, I would like to say thank you to DavidH and Andrew Emmerson. This is just one reason why the District Dave site is so damn good!
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Post by londonstuff on Feb 20, 2014 10:48:39 GMT
I tried to tidy up David's links but altering the links to include the whole link doesn't work so it looks like it's a Proboards' issue rather than user error.
I'm meeting a friend at Gloucester Road at lunchtime so I may well wander this way and see what I can see. Don't call me an Urbex just yet 
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2014 14:12:58 GMT
This just in from Andrew Emmerson...
The following is from an expert on this subject. Names removed to protect the people’s privacy.
Richard XXXXXX and I blagged our way into the gardens and had a close look. It wasn’t covered by a concrete slab but by light zinc covered hatches, which we lifted to reveal - - - a water tank let into the ground, half full of water (used for watering the garden presumably). I looked recently and the hatches have now gained padlocks.
It still remains that I was told by an Air Cadet that he had found ‘a tunnel from the lift overrun pit that led to a rotting staircase’ and that is exactly what is shown in pencil on the original drawing.
However, I now remember that all these Piccadilly Line stations had a cable tunnel from the lift overrun pit to the running tunnels, and this is probably what he saw. In any case, why would an emergency escape be necessary? They could just walk out down the running tunnels. Down Street doesn’t have one, however.
I suppose it is *just* possible that a shaft in the gardens was capped and a water tank constructed in the resulting hollow. I asked a member of Subrit on the recent visit to check, and he said that the lift overrun pit was floored over with a locked trap door in it so he couldn’t check. So the question is still open, but unlikely.
Andrew Emmerson
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Post by londonstuff on Feb 20, 2014 16:50:39 GMT
I visited this today on my way home - I was looking in the wrong place as I was looking at the location near the small 'n' rather than the big 'N' on the map at the south end of the Square. Anyhow, I went round the perimeter twice and the only thing I could possibly see was this in the photos, as said above it's at the bottom end of the Square near the main road. Hope this helps though whether or not it's got anything to do with what you're discussing or not, I'll let others decide   |
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Post by Dmitri on Feb 20, 2014 18:17:51 GMT
I tried to tidy up David's links but altering the links to include the whole link doesn't work so it looks like it's a Proboards' issue rather than user error Proboards don't like links with special symbols like @ to be included as is. However, they work when hidden behind the text, like this: This url may (or may not) show the place . |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 22:40:48 GMT
Wow thanks for all your help and interest, very grateful! Thanks for the input aswell DavidH, i really wished i lived nearer London so i could go for a wonder more often. As i read more in the book i will probably have more questions to ask |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 22:44:55 GMT
That looks a lot more than a water tank to me, that must have been something more substantial in the past! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 23:22:13 GMT
Don't give up just yet. There may be more information to come (I can't post any more at this stage).
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Post by murph9000 on Feb 22, 2014 11:37:35 GMT
This just in from Andrew Emmerson... …snip…However, I now remember that all these Piccadilly Line stations had a cable tunnel from the lift overrun pit to the running tunnels, and this is probably what he saw. In any case, why would an emergency escape be necessary? They could just walk out down the running tunnels. Down Street doesn’t have one, however. I suppose it is *just* possible that a shaft in the gardens was capped and a water tank constructed in the resulting hollow. I asked a member of Subrit on the recent visit to check, and he said that the lift overrun pit was floored over with a locked trap door in it so he couldn’t check. So the question is still open, but unlikely. Andrew Emmerson There's a couple of differences between Down Street and Brompton Road history which could explain it. Brompton Road was fully adopted by the MOD at the start of the war, as a dedicated military operations facility. Down Street was only a railway operations facility until 1940, when the government adopted spare space as essentially a protected meeting facility. Major structural work mid-war would be unattractive by then due to the disruption and use of scarce resources, if that could be avoided, plus it's easier to replace a meeting facility (and the Rotundas / Anson was already under construction then, I think?). In the case of Brompton Road, the military may have viewed the running tunnels as insufficient due to additional time needed to access the bunker via them, and the need to either stop train service or access it using a train. Replacing a military operations room isn't an easy thing, compared to a protected government meeting room. They would have undoubtedly had contingency plans for the event that Brompton Road became completely unusable, but an additional entrance might have allowed it to continue in full use despite loss of the main entrance. Just some educated guesswork / interpretation from someone that is fascinated by our military heritage. |
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Post by railtechnician on Feb 22, 2014 21:51:58 GMT
This just in from Andrew Emmerson... The following is from an expert on this subject. Names removed to protect the people’s privacy.Richard XXXXXX and I blagged our way into the gardens and had a close look. It wasn’t covered by a concrete slab but by light zinc covered hatches, which we lifted to reveal - - - a water tank let into the ground, half full of water (used for watering the garden presumably). I looked recently and the hatches have now gained padlocks. It still remains that I was told by an Air Cadet that he had found ‘a tunnel from the lift overrun pit that led to a rotting staircase’ and that is exactly what is shown in pencil on the original drawing. However, I now remember that all these Piccadilly Line stations had a cable tunnel from the lift overrun pit to the running tunnels, and this is probably what he saw. In any case, why would an emergency escape be necessary? They could just walk out down the running tunnels. Down Street doesn’t have one, however. I suppose it is *just* possible that a shaft in the gardens was capped and a water tank constructed in the resulting hollow. I asked a member of Subrit on the recent visit to check, and he said that the lift overrun pit was floored over with a locked trap door in it so he couldn’t check. So the question is still open, but unlikely. Andrew Emmerson Andrew is wrong to suggest that Down Street did not have an emergency escape! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 22:59:00 GMT
Brian, Andrew sent me this to post, from a third party. I don't doubt your word, as you've probably been all over both stations.
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Post by tjw on Feb 23, 2014 20:42:43 GMT
Reading Andrew's message I think he was talking about an additional MOD / War Office built emergency access, rather than the usual emergency access found in all deep level tube stations.
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Post by railtechnician on Feb 24, 2014 15:17:11 GMT
Reading Andrew's message I think he was talking about an additional MOD / War Office built emergency access, rather than the usual emergency access found in all deep level tube stations. Possibly, I'll have to ask him next time I communicate with him. I would simply say, why would the MOD have required another exit when there were four routes out of Down Street offices? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 8:41:23 GMT
Sub-Brit members have been on the case of the 'Brompton Road Mystery', and hopefully a full report will be posted soon. Watch this space :-)
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Post by Dstock7080 on Feb 28, 2014 12:52:57 GMT
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Post by murph9000 on Feb 28, 2014 13:24:26 GMT
That could be tricky, as other articles have described him as a "mystery Ukranian billionaire". Before asking, it might be worth checking the vicinity for henchmen or a fluffy white cat ;-) |
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Post by John Tuthill on Feb 28, 2014 13:51:49 GMT
That could be tricky, as other articles have described him as a "mystery Ukranian billionaire". Before asking, it might be worth checking the vicinity for henchmen or a fluffy white cat ;-) Or a missile silo in the lift shaft?  |
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Post by stuartroy on Feb 28, 2014 14:11:18 GMT
He'll need to be a billionaire with that size wine cellar to fill.
Always wanted a house with a train set in the basement.
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Post by bassmike on Feb 28, 2014 17:01:23 GMT
perhaps its the ex Ukranian president?
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