Clapham South tube station

Clapham South
Station entrance
Interactive map of Clapham South
General information
Location	Clapham, Balham
Local authority	London Borough of Wandsworth
Managed by	London Underground
Owner	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	2 and 3
Key dates
13 September 1926	Opened (C&SLR)
Listed status
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1266140
Added to list	16 June 1987; 39 years ago (1987-06-16)
Other information
Coordinates	51°27′10″N 0°08′49″W / 51.452778°N 0.147°W / 51.452778; -0.147

Clapham South (/ˈklæpəm ˈsaʊθ/) is a London Underground station. It is on the Morden branch of the Northern line, between Clapham Common and Balham stations. The station is in both London fare zone 2 and 3. It is located at the corner of Balham Hill (A24) and Nightingale Lane, at the southern edge of Clapham Common.

History

The station was designed by Charles Holden and was opened on 13 September 1926 as the first station of the Morden extension of the City and South London Railway, which is now part of the Northern line. Other proposed names for the station prior to opening were "Balham North" and "Nightingale Lane".

The apartments above the station, named Westbury Court, were a later addition, built in the mid-1930s. The parade of shops along Balham Hill was extended as part of the same development, using the same style as the original three closest to the station.

The station was refurbished in the 1990s, with new flooring, tiling and CCTV, while ensuring that original Holden features were restored or reproduced. The restoration work was awarded a National Railway Heritage Award.

It is one of eight London Underground stations with a deep-level air-raid shelter underneath it. In 1948, the shelter was used as temporary accommodation for immigrants from Jamaica. The HMT Empire Windrush had arrived that year at Tilbury, carrying 492 immigrants recruited by the Colonial Office due to London's labour shortage after World War II. As there was no accommodation for all of the new arrivals, many were housed temporarily at Clapham South.

The underground shelter has been available to visit through London Transport Museum's Hidden London programme of guided tours since 2016.

Connections

The station is served by London Buses routes 50, 155, 249, 355, G1, 690, as well as by night route N155.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clapham South tube station.

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Clapham South station, 1926
  • Station with recently built apartments, 1936
  • Entrance to deep level shelter, 1942
• CharlesHolden.com Early photograph of station

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Clapham Common towards Edgware, Mill Hill East or High Barnet		Northern line Morden branch		Balham towards Morden