
The Underground Map is a project which is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying inside the M25.
In a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s, you can see how London grew from a city which only reached as far as Park Lane into the post war megapolis we know today. There are now over 85 000 articles on all variety of locations including roads, houses, schools, pubs and palaces.
You can begin exploring by choosing a place from the dropdown list at the top left and then clicking Reset Location.
As maps are displayed, click on the markers to view location articles.
You can also view historical maps of London - click on the "pile of paper" control on the top right of a page's map to change to a particular decade.
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Bishop’s Bridge, sometimes known as Paddington Bridge, is a road bridge which carries Bishop’s Bridge Road across the rail approaches to Paddington station The name of Bishop’s Bridge derives from the manor of Paddington which was granted to the Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley, by Edward VI in the mid 16th Century.
In 2003 while researching a book about the station, Steven Brindle discovered that Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for the original Bishop’s Bridge and that the section he built over the canal was his first iron bridge and had a unique design.
The bridge was due to be rebuilt and negotiations between the council and English Heritage followed. It was agreed that the 1839 iron bridge would be dismantled with a view to future reconstruction. The bulk of the dismantling work took place in April 2004, allowing the bridge replacement work to proceed as planned.
Construction on the replacement bridge by Hochtief commenced in July 2003 with it opening on 14 June 2006.
»more Nine Elms
Nine Elms is an area within Battersea in the far north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Wandsworth Nine Elms was formerly mainly industrial but is now becoming more residential and commercial in character. In the area is the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Nine Elms Lane was named around the year 1645, from a row of elm trees bordering the road, though a path probably existed between York House and Vauxhall from the 1200s. In 1838, at the time of construction of the London and Southampton Railway, the area was described as "a low swampy district occasionally overflowed by the River Thames [whose] osier beds, pollards and windmille and the river give it a Dutch effect".
Nine Elms railway station opened on 21 May 1838 as the first London terminus of the London & South Western Railway. The neo-classical building was designed by Sir William Tite. The station was connected to points between Vauxhall and London Bridge by Thames steam boats. It closed in 1848 when the railway was extended via the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct to a new terminus at Waterloo. The ...
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Chester Road, DA15
Chester Road lies to the north of the Blackfen Road In the early 1930s, estates of houses and bungalows were being built in the area by C. R. Leech, Wates and New Ideal Homesteads.
Buying a new house in the area was an exciting business and show house viewing (even for those not intending to purchase) was a popular weekend occupation for many who lived in the inner London suburbs.
Many families who moved here were attracted by modern houses with gardens, fresh air and space. Many of the 1930s houses though were small and even had outside toilets.
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Mayplace Road East, DA7
Mayplace Road East was an old lane leading east from Barnehurst In 1750 Miles Barne inherited a large estate: May Place.
’Barnehurst’ was an artificial name created for the local railway station from the family name. The area was previously agricultural - a mix of market gardens, orchards and woodland. A settlement was concentrated along Mayplace Road. Only with the electrification of the railway in 1926 did the large housing developments of the 1920s and 1930s start to appear.
In 1926, the developer W H Wedlock Ltd started to build on the site of Mayplace Farm and based on Oakwood Drive.
W H Wedlock Ltd developed the ’Mayplace Estate’ between Erith Road and Barnehurst Avenue only after 1932 as the underlying land was more difficult to develop.
The Barne family finally disposed of May Place in 1938, selling it to Crayford Urban District Council for £24,500.
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Boxmoor Street, W11
Boxmoor Street was also known as Henry Place and Beaumont Street during its brief life It ran west from Norland Road and started its life in the 1840s. The western end was originally the Counter’s Creek rivulet, later superseded by the track of the West London Railway.
By the 1930s, Boxmoor Street was described as "a little road off the Norland Market in Shepherd’s Bush". Its entrance was located opposite the Stewards Arms pub.
It was quite unique as it was part of W11 lying within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The M41 (West Cross Route) motorway was built over the top of the street.
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