As one of the London’s leading agents, our primary focus is on prime real estate in Mayfair, the West End and St. James’s, the type of space that’s in very high demand and commands cycle-high rents, the likes of which you can search here.
However, there is another side of London, the London that doesn’t appear in guidebooks or tourist websites. The Gherkin, The Shard and The Cheesegrater dominate corporate and tourist imagery of London’s prosperity but more interesting than these glass and steel behemoths is the London that has been left to rot, the London that has fallen into disrepair and the London that’s been coloured in by graffiti artists.
Often referred to as ‘Secret London’, our city is packed full of long-forgotten (by circumstance or by design), derelict and abandoned commercial, residential and industrial buildings, tube stations, underground bunkers, passages, tunnels and government facilities we’re not sure we were supposed to know about in the first place.
They do say that the best place to hide is in plain sight and the Admiralty Citadel is a perfect example. It sits in between Horse Guards Parade and St. James’s Park and was built during WWII. It’s used today by the Ministry of Defence as a communications centre but was originally intended to act as a stronghold if the Germans made it as far as London.
Battersea Power Station is perhaps the most famous but there are a number of lost and disused power stations that were built to feed our growing city. Plans for its future use have been on the agenda for years and in 2012, a Malaysian consortium bought the power station for £400m and is converting it into 800 flats plus commercial and retail space, a gym, a spa and a theatre.
Opened in 1899, Acton Lane Power Station supplied electricity to parts of west and central London and was closed in the early 1980s and Lots Road Power Station was used to power what became the District, Northern, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines until it was decommissioned in 2002.
All three have been involved in failed redevelopment attempts and they remain standing as a testament to late nineteenth century engineering.
Another fine example of nineteenth century construction which went the same way as many of London’s disused public buildings (a lack of money) is the Hornsey Road Public Baths. Built in 1895 and later extended to include baths for women only and a laundry, it eventually closed in 1991.
One of the most disturbing trends that appeared while researching this piece is the c. £350m worth of mansions sitting derelict on Bishop’s Avenue in Hampstead (estimates suggest 120 bedrooms are empty ) and includes one row of 10 houses (worth £75-85m) bought by the Saudi Royal Family. Some have been vacant for over 25 years.
Perhaps the parts of London that attract the most interest are the disused tube stations. Transport for London won’t give exact figures but say ‘in the region of 40’ are disused. Some were completely abandoned due to lack of use and some were moved to their present locations.
Green Park station started life as Dover Street station but was relocated onto Green Park in 1933 and the famous Down Street station (closed in 1932) sits between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner on the Piccadilly Line. It was never busy and residents were far too wealthy to use the tube regularly!
York Road station (originally the stop between King’s Cross and Caledonian Road on the Piccadilly Line which is why there’s such a long run between the two) was finally closed in September 1932 and if you look closely as you pass through the station westbound, you can still see the purple and cream tiling just before you leave Caledonian Road.
There are lots of other underground stations that are no longer in use including Brompton Road (between Knightsbridge and South Ken on the Piccadilly Line), British Museum (between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn on the Central Line), King William Street which was the first deep level tunnel built on the tube system and was a branch line from Borough on the Northern Line which closed in 1900.
In honour of our very own Paul Gold, Crouch End station was opened in 1867 on the east side of Crouch End Hill opposite Crescent Road and closed in 1954. Both platforms survive and the three bricked up windows and door in the side of the road bridge are believed to be the entrance to the station’s public toilets!
There are thousands of disused and abandoned buildings in London and we can’t list them all but we hope this gives you a flavour of what’s around us, in dispersed with futuristic skyscrapers, the Google HQ and a Starbucks on every corner.
Back to reality and if you’re interested in any of the properties on our roster, please don’t hesitate to contact us.