The Underground Map

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.

As maps are displayed, click on the markers to view location articles.

Latest on The Underground Map...

Yiewsley

Yiewsley is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Yiewsley’s transition from an agrarian community began when the Grand Junction Canal was opened. Construction started in May 1793 and connected the area to the Thames at Brentford, passing through Yiewsley on its way north following the River Colne. An aqueduct was built at Cowley Lock to cross the Fray’s River. In 1794, the canal opened between the Thames and Uxbridge, and in 1795, the aqueduct over the Fray’s River was likely completed.

The following year, in 1796, Colham Wharf, Yiewsley’s first dock, was established near Colham Bridge. In 1801, the Paddington Arm of the canal opened, connecting the area to national trade routes.

The canal played a vital role in transporting Cowley stock bricks, which were made from the abundant brick-earth in Yiewsley. The bricks were transported mainly along the Grand Junction Canal and the Regent’s Canal to supply the demand for building materials in Victorian London.

By t...

»more

NOVEMBER

2023

South Harrow
South Harrow originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth as a result of easier access from Central London by rail In the 1890s, the Metropolitan District Railway, which later became the District Line but was operating as an independent company at the time, recognised the inadequate service to Uxbridge and Harrow. To address this, they proposed the construction of a railway line towards both towns, and this led to the formation of the Ealing & South Harrow Railway. The railway line was intended to extend to South Harrow, which was then a rural area located to the south of Roxeth.

Construction of the railway line was completed by 1899, but the District Line faced financial difficulties that delayed its opening until 1903. Consequently, South Harrow became the terminus of a line extending from Park Royal & Twyford Abbey. The location around Northolt Road subsequently developed into South Harrow’s own commercial and residential hub.

The original station building was approximately 170 metres south of the present-day station. This extension marked a significant miles...
»more

SEPTEMBER

2023

Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street is a London Underground station near Regent’s Park Great Portland Street station was opened on 10 January 1863 as Portland Road, renamed Great Portland Street and Regents Park in 1923 and changed to its present name on 1 March 1917.

The station’s present structure, constructed in 1930, is situated on a traffic island at the intersection of Marylebone Road, Great Portland Street and Albany Street. This building features a steel-framed design with a cream terracotta exterior. The station’s perimeter also houses shops and, in the past, included a car showroom with office spaces above it. Notably, Great Portland Street was a significant sales location for the motor industry. The station’s architectural design, credited to C.W. Fowler, earned it a Grade II listing in January 1987.

The area around Great Portland Street station offers various points of interest. Regent’s Park and the iconic BT Tower are nearby attractions. Additionally, the station’s proximity to Regen...
»more

SEPTEMBER

2023

Courtfield Gardens, SW5
Courtfield Gardens is named after the field beneath it, cultivated until the 19th century According to 16th-century records, Courtfield Gardens was built on a vast open meadow known as Great Courtfield. This meadow was surrounded by fertile land and small farms and was part of a large area of land that extended from Cromwell Road to The Old Brompton Road in one direction, and from Gloucester Road to Earl’s Court Road in the other direction. Great Courtfield was included in the Earl’s Court ’manor’.

During the 18th century, Earl’s Court House, a grand manor house, was constructed on the land that is now the western terrace of Barkston Gardens. This building replaced an extensive dwelling that was described in 1705 as having fountains, a marble-tiled dairy, engines for water, and impressive gates at its entrance.

In the 19th century, the area surrounding Courtfield Gardens was developed with rows of terraced houses, as the demand for housing in London grew. Earl’s Court House was demolished in the middle of th...
»more

JUNE

2023

Alba Place, W11
Alba Place is part of the Colville Conservation Area Originally the stable house accommodation for the main houses on Lancaster Road, the primary purpose of the Mews properties is now residential.

Alba Place is located on the site of an original Mews but has been redeveloped to a degree that it no longer contains any surviving Mews properties. It is a gated cul-de-sac off Portobello Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, almost opposite Hayden’s Place (another redeveloped Mews). It contains 16 properties used for residential purposes.

Alba Place was Albion Place until 1937, one of the many patriotic names dating from the period immediately following the Crimean War.
»read full article

LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Eileen Brecknock Road, N7 Added: 10 Nov 2023 09:42 GMT	Brecknock Road Pleating Company My great grandparents ran the Brecknock Road pleating Company around 1910 to 1920 and my Grandmother worked there as a pleater until she was 16. I should like to know more about this. I know they had a beautiful Victorian house in Islington as I have photos of it & of them in their garden. Source: Family history Reply
Squirrel’s Lane, IG9 Added: 6 Nov 2023 16:59 GMT	061123 Why do Thames Water not collect the 15 . Three meter lengths of blue plastic fencing, and old pipes etc. They left here for the last TWO Years, these cause an obstruction,as they halfway lying in the road,as no footpath down this road, and the cars going and exiting the park are getting damaged, also the public are in Grave Danger when trying to avoid your rubbish and the danger of your fences. Source: Squirrels Lane. Buckhurst Hill, Essex. IG9. I want some action ,now, not Excuses.MK. Reply
Christian Cornwall Road, W11 Added: 31 Oct 2023 10:34 GMT	Cornwall Road, W11 Photo shows William Richard Hoare’s chemist shop at 121 Cornwall Road. Reply
Vik Oaks Road, TW6 Added: 30 Oct 2023 18:48 GMT	Old pub sign from the Rising Sun Hi I have no connection to the area except that for the last 30+ years we’ve had an old pub sign hanging on our kitchen wall from the Rising Sun, Stanwell, which I believe was / is on the Oaks Rd. Happy to upload a photo if anyone can tell me how or where to do that! Reply
Phillip Martin Ashburnham Place, SE10 Added: 16 Oct 2023 06:25 GMT	16 Ashburnham Road On 15 October 1874 George Frederick Martin was born in 16 Ashburnham Road Greenwich to George Henry Martin, a painter, and Mary Martin, formerly Southern. Reply
Christine Bithrey Holly Park, N4 Added: 15 Oct 2023 15:20 GMT	The Hollies (1860 - 1900) I lived in Holly Park Estate from 1969 I was 8 years old when we moved in until I left to get married, my mother still lives there now 84. I am wondering if there was ever a cemetery within The Hollies? And if so where? Was it near to the Blythwood Road end or much nearer to the old Methodist Church which is still standing although rather old looking. We spent most of our childhood playing along the old dis-used railway that run directly along Blythwood Road and opposite Holly Park Estate - top end which is where we live/ed. We now walk my mothers dog there twice a day. An elderly gentleman once told me when I was a child that there used to be a cemetery but I am not sure if he was trying to scare us children! I only thought about this recently when walking past the old Methodist Church and seeing the flag stone in the side of the wall with the inscription of when it was built late 1880 If anyone has any answers please email me [email protected] Reply
Chris hutchison Broadhurst Gardens, NW6 Added: 15 Oct 2023 03:04 GMT	35 broadhurst gardens. 35 Broadhurst gardens was owned by famous opera singer Mr Herman “Simmy”Simberg. He had transformed it into a film and recording complex. There was a film and animation studio on the ground floor. The recording facilities were on the next two floors. I arrived in London from Australia in 1966 and worked in the studio as the tea boy and trainee recording engineer from Christmas 1966 for one year. The facility was leased by an American advertising company called Moreno Films. Mr Simbergs company Vox Humana used the studio for their own projects as well. I worked for both of them. I was so lucky. The manager was another wonderful gentleman called Jack Price who went on to create numerous songs for many famous singers of the day and also assisted the careers of Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. “Simmy” let me live in the bedsit,upper right hand window. Jack was also busy with projects with The Troggs,Bill Wyman,Peter Frampton. We did some great sessions with Manfred Mann and Alan Price. The Cream did some demos but that was before my time. We did lots of voice over work. Warren Mitchell and Ronnie Corbett were favourites. I went back in 1978 and “Simmy “ had removed all of the studio and it was now his home. His lounge room was still our studio in my minds eye!! Reply
Sue L Battersea Added: 13 Oct 2023 17:21 GMT	Duffield Street, Battersea I’ve been looking for ages for a photo of Duffield Street without any luck. My mother and grandfather lived there during the war. It was the first property he was able to buy but sadly after only a few months they were bombed out. My mother told the story that one night they were aware of a train stopping above them in the embankment. It was full of soldiers who threw out cigarettes and sweets at about four in the morning. They were returning from Dunkirk though of course my mother had no idea at the time. I have heard the same story from a different source too. Reply

Click here to explore another London street
We now have 628 completed street histories and 46872 partial histories

JUNE

2017

Red Lion
The Red Lion was one of two pubs in Green Street. The other pub, [[34056|The Green Willows]], lay a little way to the south.

On the 1900 map, the Red Lion’s position is marked as a post office but it seems to have been licensed from 1891 onwards by the Weekes family (George, Alfred and Mary Ann).

Mrs Jemima Larkin took over in 1929 and was licensee throughout the 1930s. The Red Lion was in the 1950s run by a man called Ted Oakley.

A bus stop stood outside which served the 358 bus.

The Red Lion was finally demolished in 1962. It is thought that its business declined as newer pubs more convenient to the new Borehamwood estate were built.
»read full article

JUNE

2017

Green Street
Green Street was once a separate village from Borehamwood but is now on the edge of its urban area. Green Street is the modern name for the road which runs through the area, north to south, and which connects Borehamwood with Shenley.

On maps issued in 1900, the southern part of the hamlet is shown as being called Greenstreet Hill, dominated by a large house called ’Campions’ (later giving its name to a local school).

Two farms, Leggats Farm and Cowleyhill Farm once lay to the south.

The main part of the village in former times lay to the north of the modern junction with [Stapleton Road, WD6|Stapleton Road].

The village supported two pubs at the turn of the twentieth century - the [[51202|Red Lion]] and the [[34056|Green Willows]]
»read full article

JUNE

2017

Green Willows
The Green Willows pub seems to have existed from 1871 until the turn of the twentieth century. It was one of two pubs in [[2401|Green Street]] - the other was the [[51202|Red Lion]] - and was positioned at one end of a long brick building containing four cottages and the pub itself. The pub was in the ownership of the Crawley family.

Along the row of cottages - at no.91 - an infamous Victorian murder took place. Henry Cullum had fallen for his neighbour Emily Bignall, and they had been courting throughout 1887 and early 1888.

On March 7th, neighbours heard a man shout: "You Beast!" Then two shots were fired and Emily fell to the ground. Emily’s mother, Sarah Bignall, recalled:

"My child fell into my arms and said ‘Oh Mother!’ She was bleeding from the neck and holding her apron up to her neck on both sides. I dragged her towards my door and she fell to the ground. I put my fingers to try and stop the blood and then I saw it rush out the other side. l ran to the door and shouted ‘Murder’. I remember no more and ...
»more

JUNE

2017

Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town mainly within the London Borough of Croydon, approximately 13 miles from Charing Cross. The location forms part of the North Downs. The hills contain chalk and flint. Several dry valleys with natural underground drainage merge and connect to the headwaters of the River Wandle, here named the ’River Bourne’. Although the Bourne river floods periodically, the soil is generally dry and is the watershed which has constituted a natural route way across the Downs for early populations. Fossil records exist from the Pleistocene period (4 million years ago)

There is evidence of human occupation from the Neolithic period, Iron Age, Anglo-Saxon, Bronze Age, Roman and Medieval. It appears as Colesdone in the Domesday Book.

Most housing in Smitham (Bottom/Valley) and the clustered settlement of Old Coulsdon, as well as the narrower valley between them, was built in the 80 years from 1890 to 1970. The area developed mixed suburban and in its centre urban housing.

Old Coulsdon occupies the south-east of the district. Scattered, rather ...
»more

JUNE

2017

Apex Corner
The A1 (Barnet Bypass) and A41 (Watford Bypass) converge at Apex Corner roundabout. Apex Corner was the site of the Apex Garage, built beside the roundabout - itself part of a 1920–4 road improvement programme. Although it is still officially named Northway Circus, the garage, now gone, gave its name to the area.

A landmark pub, The Royal Scot, stood at the junction - this turned into a Kentucky Fried Chicken and then later a hotel. Still later, a McDonalds arrived there.

The 100 square metres that covers the A1 and A41 junction and nearby in Selvage Lane, the M1 running under a bridge, was for a while in the 1990s the UK’s busiest square kilometer, measured by traffic flow.
»read full article

JUNE

2017

Chesham
Chesham is the fourth largest town in Buckinghamshire, situated on a spur of the Metropolitian Line - the further point from the centre of London of any other tube station. The town is known for its four Bs, usually quoted as:- boots, beer, brushes and Baptists.

Chesham’s prosperity grew significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries with the development of manufacturing industry.

In the face of fierce competition from both home and abroad all these traditional industries rapidly declined. The ready availability of skilled labour encouraged new industries to the town both before and after the end of the Second World War.

Today employment in the town is provided by mainly small business engaged in light industry, technology and professional services.

From the early part of the 20th century onwards there has been a considerable expansion of the town with new housing developments and civic infrastructure. Increasingly Chesham has also become a commuter town with improved connection to London via the Underground and road networks. The town centre has been progressively redeveloped since the 196...
»more

JUNE

2017

Fulham Broadway
Fulham Broadway station is notable as the nearest station to Stamford Bridge stadium, the home of Chelsea Football Club. The London Oratory School is also nearby. Fulham Broadway station is notable as the nearest station to Stamford Bridge stadium, the home of Chelsea Football Club. The London Oratory School is also nearby.

The station was opened as Walham Green on 1 March 1880 when the District Railway (DR, now the District line) extended its line south from West Brompton to Putney Bridge. Due to the area’s poor Underground links, it is the station used locally by many residents of the western part of neighbouring Chelsea.

The original station building was replaced in 1905 with a new entrance designed by Harry W Ford to accommodate crowds for the newly built Stamford Bridge stadium. It is now a Grade II listed building.

The name was changed to its current form on 1 March 1952 after representations from Fulham Chamber of Commerce.

In 2003 the street-level station building at the southern end of the platform was closed and a new entrance was opened within the adjacent Fulham Broadway ...
»more

JUNE

2017

Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is an area in north London which grew up around an important railway interchange near the borders of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. Finsbury Park is not to be confused with [Finsbury|Finsbury] which is 5.3 km further south in the London Borough of Islington.

The area is centred on Finsbury Park station, a major bus, rail and tube interchange near the southern end of the public park of the same name.

The surrounding area has a cosmopolitan feel, as reflected by the wide variety of shops and establishments on Seven Sisters Road, Blackstock Road and Stroud Green Road. The North London Central Mosque (formerly the Finsbury Park Mosque), which drew attention for extremist activity before a change in leadership in 2003, is located here. Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates Stadium is nearby.

Finsbury Park station first opened on 1 July 1861 and was originally named Seven Sisters Road (Holloway). It is on the route of the East Coast Main Line from King’s Cross to the north of England and Scotland. The southern section of this was built in stages during the 1840s and ear...
»more

JUNE

2017

Hillfield Court, NW3
Hillfield Court is a prominent art deco residential mansion block in Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1934. It is one of the many purpose built mansion blocks on Haverstock Hill between Chalk Farm and Hampstead. It is close to the amenities near Belsize Park tube station, as well as the shops of Belsize Village, South End Green and Hampstead.

Hillfield Court sits on what was once a large country estate known as the Belsize Estate. The first recorded building on the site of what today is Hillfield Court was built in around 1646. It was known as the Blue House and was one of many rural abodes in the area belonging to wealthy merchants, who wanted a country residence within easy reach of London. The Blue House was accessed directly from Haverstock Hill. Little is known about the residents of the Blue House but evidence suggests that in 1650 it was occupied by one John Mascall and in 1679 by Thomas Butler. Between 1761 and 1773, the house was rebuilt and extended by merchant William Horsley.

In 1808, the Belsize Estate was split into 9 leasehold estates. The Hillfi...
»more

JUNE

2017

Lea Bridge Road, E5
Lea Bridge Road is a major through route in east London, across the Lea Valley from Clapton to Whipps Cross in Leyton. In 1582 Mill Field Lane ran from Clapton to Jeremy’s Ferry in the Leyton Marshes.

Replacing the ferry, a timber bridge was built in 1745, and the road became known as Lea Bridge Road, with a tollgate at the Clapton end. A toll house was built on the west bank of the river in 1757, and the bridge rebuilt in iron in 1820–1. Tolls continued to be levied until 1872.

The second road bridge opened circa 1890 and the present third Lea Bridge Road Bridge was opened during August 1995.
»read full article

JUNE

2017

Boston Manor
Boston Manor is a London Underground station serving the Boston Manor area between Brentford and Hanwell in west London. Boston Manor station was opened by the District Railway (DR), on 1 May 1883 on a line to Hounslow Town (located on Hounslow High Street but now closed). The station was originally named Boston Road. The signs on the platforms gave the name as Boston Manor for Hanwell.

Electrification of the DR’s tracks took place between 1903 and 1905 with electric trains replacing steam trains on the Hounslow branch from 13 June 1905. The station was given its current name on 11 December 1911.

Between 1932 and 1934 the station was rebuilt to replace the 1883 station building.

The new station was designed by Stanley Heaps in the modern European style used elsewhere on the Piccadilly line by Charles Holden. The design uses brick, reinforced concrete and glass. Occupying a narrow site because of the approach to the adjoining depot, the station was built out over the tracks. The distinctive tower feature, with an illuminated leading edge and roundel rises h...
»more

JUNE

2017

27A Theobald Street
27a Theobald Street was once Boreham Wood’s first purpose-built school. Since the introduction of the Education Act in 1870, making it compulsory for children under the age of ten to go to school, another building down the road at number 35 Theobald Street had been used as a temporary infants’ school for the area.

Boreham Wood was not a parish in its own right until later and so the area did not have a junior school of its own. Older pupils had to walk to the Elstree National School or Medburn Boys’ School, which was on the route to Radlett."

But in 1896, the building, which still stands at 27a Theobald Street, was erected. It is thought to have been constructed using bricks mined from a quarry off Deacons Hill Road, in Elstree.

At its peak, the school took up to 66 pupils. With the building being so small in structure, classes were divided, with a screen partition used in the middle of the room.

The building was also used by the Town Council for meetings in the early 20th century. »more

JUNE

2017

Stag Lane, NW9
Stag Lane follows the line of an old country track. Stag Lane was formerly known as Tunworth Lane, after an estate which existed both sides of the road at its Burnt Oak end.

Many roads converged on Kingsbury Green and Stag Lane was one, running from Roe Green to Redhill - an old name for Burnt Oak. Many modern roads in the area had earlier names. From Kingsbury Green, Ox Street or London Lane and later Kingsbury Road, ran eastward to the Hyde; Buck Lane, earlier known as Stonepits or Postle Lane, ran northward from Kingsbury Green to join Hay Lane, a road mentioned in the 13th century. Church Lane, in 1563 called Northland Lane, ran southward from Kingsbury Green to the church and Green Lane joined the green to Townsend Lane, known as North Dean Lane in 1394 and 1503. On the west Gibbs or Piggs Lane joined Kingsbury Green to Slough Lane or Sloe Street, as it was called in 1428. The southward extension of Slough Lane, Salmon Street, was called Dorman Stone Lane in the 15th and 16th centuries. The portion of road between t...
»more

JUNE

2017

Theobald Street, WD6
Theobald Street runs from the centre of Borehamwood to the centre of Radlett. Theobald Street was, until the twentieth century, the high street of Borehamwood. Shops run along the street between the Crown pub and Brickfield Cottages. Only with the arrival of the film industry did Shenley Road begin to take over this function.

The "street" part of the name is derived from an often-used Hertfordshire term for a hamlet which lies on a long road - other examples are Colney Street and, more locally, Green Street. In modern times the street was named after that of the hamlet - this is the reason it is a ’street’ rather than a ’lane’, despite its rural setting.

Theobald Street was, were created as a result of the Enclosure Act of 1776, whereby Boreham Wood Common was divided up amongst various landowners.

While associated more now with Borehamwood, the hamlet of Theobald Street lay nearer what is now Radlett and indeed was a former alternative name for Radlett. In 1718 the bridge over a stream between Radlett and C...
»more

JUNE

2017

An Omnibus Ride to Piccadilly Circus
An Omnibus Ride to Piccadilly Circus, Mr Gladstone Travelling with Ordinary Passengers, 1885 This painting shows Mr Gladstone, the British Prime Minister, travelling with ordinary passengers.

The description of the painting also says that it includes a self portrait. Thus we can assume that the artist, Alfred Morgan, is seated next to the Window on the left-hand side.
»read full article

JUNE

2017

Golders Green, looking south (1905)
This photo from the London Transport Collection shows Golders Green crossroads looking south in 1905. While this predates the arrival of the Hampstead Tube (Northern Line) by a couple of years’ land speculation is already taking place. At the beginning of the 20th century Golders Green was a small rural hamlet with only a few houses, but the opening of the railway stimulated a rapid building boom causing the number of houses and the population to increase greatly.

The photographer is standing in a position which would see them directly underneath the earth of the Golders Green railway viaduct by 1907.

»read full article

JUNE

2017

46 Aldgate High Street
This Grade II Listed office building is one of the few timber-framed buildings in the City that predates the Great Fire of 1666. In the 2010s, its office location still had a variety of former bedrooms, still wood-panelled and with feature fireplaces.
»read full article

MAP YEAR:	1750	1800	1810	1820	1830	1860	1900	1950	2023	Show map without markers
ZOOM:	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17 18	14 15 16 17	14 15 16 17 18
	TIP: Adjust the MAP YEAR and ZOOM to tweak historical maps

PREVIOUSLY ON THE UNDERGROUND MAP...