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Leytonstone

Leytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross.

The name Leytonstone — in early documents Leyton-Atte-Stone — may derive from the large stone standing at the junction of Hollybush Hill and New Wanstead; in the 18th-century an obelisk was mounted on top of it, and it has been claimed that it is the remains of a Roman milestone.

Leytonstone station was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 22 August 1856. In turn it became, from 1862, part of the Great Eastern Railway system and then in 1923 part of the London & North Eastern Railway before being transferred to London Transport in 1947. This formed part of the New Works Programme 1935 - 1940 that was to see major changes at Leytonstone with the station becoming the junction of the existing Epping branch, newly electrified, with the new tube tunnel running under Eastern Avenue towards Newbury Park. This work saw a complete reconstruction of the station along with the removal of the level crossing at Church Lane and its replacement by an underbridge. The work stopped in May 1940 due to wartime priorities; further delays were caused by the station buildings being hit by a German bomb in January 1944. During the war, the new tunnels were used as an aircraft component factory; the part closest to Leytonstone was a public air-raid shelter.

The station was first served by the Central Line on 5 May 1947 when it became the temporary terminus of the line, passengers changing on to steam shuttle onwards to Epping. This ceased on 14 December 1947 with the extension of Underground services to Woodford and Newbury Park.

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