Since the 19th century North Lambeth has been one of the names to describe the area around Waterloo station and the shopping district around Lower Marsh market, which was the heart of the original Lambeth village. This area contains many business premises and nationally important locations such as St Thomas’ Hospital, the London Eye, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Festival Hall, County Hall, Lambeth Palace, and the Imperial War Museum.
Lambeth North tube station serves the area. Designed by Leslie Green, the station was opened by the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway on 10 March 1906, with the name Kennington Road. It served as the temporary southern terminus of the line until 5 August 1906, when Elephant & Castle station was opened. The station’s name was changed to Westminster Bridge Road in July 1906 and it was again renamed, to Lambeth North, in April 1917.
At 4am on 16 January 1941, a German Satan 1800 kg general-purpose bomb hit a hostel at nearby 92 Westminster Bridge Road. The shock-wave severely damaged the southbound platform tunnel injuring 28 people sheltering there, one of whom died in hospital 15 days later. Thirty-seven rings of the damaged tunnel had to be completely replaced, 15 partially replaced, and 86 feet of platform rebuilt. Traffic through the station resumed after 95 days.
