Discover the many secrets of Holborn tube station
LONDON Transport Museum has launched a brand-new behindthe-scenes tour of London Underground’s Holborn station, with tickets available to book now.
Originally opened in 1906 as a complex of four platforms to serve the Piccadilly Line, Holborn station has much more to explore than is immediately apparent.
On this new tour, due to start in the summer, ticketholders will step behind concealed doors and explore the expansive disused areas which lay concealed, some not seen by the public in nearly 30 years.
Led by an expert tour guide, visitors will explore closed-off areas, including the two closed platforms of the former Aldwych branch, and also experience an unexpected view of the Piccadilly Line, complete with vintage posters, original Leslie Green Edwardian design, and an early 20th century signalling cabin.
Written using content drawn from London Transport Museum’s extensive archive and collection, the tour will reveal the twists and turns of the 20th century as visitors hear how the station’s disused spaces came to be used in surprising ways over the years, including as scientific laboratories, providing shelter for London Transport staff in wartime, and even housing a model rail club.
Also covered will be how staff members may have felt working there during the height of the Blitz, how the big modernisation project of the 1930s led to the closure of the nearby British Museum station, and how Holborn station is still playing a key role in the future of the underground today as part of a massive upgrading project of the signalling system.
The exclusive Hidden London guided tours at Holborn start from July 31 and will take place on Wednesday to Sunday each week, with tickets costing £45.
Other Hidden London tours running from April to September include Baker Street: The World’s First Underground; Piccadilly Circus: The Heart of London ; Piccadilly Circus Tour and Lunch at the Hard Rock Café; Clapham South: Subterranean Shelter; Down
Street: Churchill’s Secret Station; Down Street and Luxury Cocktail and Nibbles at The Flemings Hotel; Aldwych: The End of the Line; Charing Cross: Access All Areas; and Charing Cross and Classic Afternoon Tea at The Clermont.
For more details and to buy tickets, visit www.ltmuseum.co.uk
Meanwhile, UKTV’s Secrets of the London Underground, co-hosted by Hidden London engagement manager Siddy Holloway, has been renewed for a fourth series. Hidden London co-developer Chris Nix will also be acting as its historical consultant, with the series set to air later this year.