The Underground Map

The Underground Map is a project which is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying inside the M25.

Amersham

In a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s, you can see how London grew from a city which only reached as far as Park Lane into the post war megapolis we know today. There are now over 85 000 articles on all variety of locations including roads, houses, schools, pubs and palaces.

You can begin exploring by choosing a place from the dropdown list at the top.

As maps are displayed, click on the markers to view location articles.

Latest on The Underground Map...

Amersham

Amersham is a market town 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills, England. It is part of the London commuter belt. Amersham is split into two distinct areas: Old Amersham, set in the valley of the River Misbourne, which contains the 13th century parish church of St. Mary’s and several old pubs and coaching inns; and Amersham-on-the-Hill, which grew rapidly around the railway station in the early part of the 20th century.

Records date back to pre-Anglo-Saxon times, when it was known as Egmondesham.

In 1200 Geoffrey, Earl of Essex obtained a charter for Amersham allowing him to hold a Friday market and a fair on 7 and 8 September. In 1613 a new charter was granted to Edward, Earl of Bedford, changing the market day to Tuesday and establishing a statute fair on 19 September.

The area of the town now known as Amersham on the Hill was referred to as Amersham Common until after the arrival of the Metropolitan Line in 1892. After this date growth of the new area of the town gradually accelerated, with much work being done by the arch...

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NOVEMBER

2023

Yiewsley
Yiewsley is a large suburban village in the London Borough of Hillingdon Yiewsley’s transition from an agrarian community began when the Grand Junction Canal was opened. Construction started in May 1793 and connected the area to the Thames at Brentford, passing through Yiewsley on its way north following the River Colne. An aqueduct was built at Cowley Lock to cross the Fray’s River. In 1794, the canal opened between the Thames and Uxbridge, and in 1795, the aqueduct over the Fray’s River was likely completed.

The following year, in 1796, Colham Wharf, Yiewsley’s first dock, was established near Colham Bridge. In 1801, the Paddington Arm of the canal opened, connecting the area to national trade routes.

The canal played a vital role in transporting Cowley stock bricks, which were made from the abundant brick-earth in Yiewsley. The bricks were transported mainly along the Grand Junction Canal and the Regent’s Canal to supply the demand for building materials in Victorian London.

By t...
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NOVEMBER

2023

South Harrow
South Harrow originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth as a result of easier access from Central London by rail In the 1890s, the Metropolitan District Railway, which later became the District Line but was operating as an independent company at the time, recognised the inadequate service to Uxbridge and Harrow. To address this, they proposed the construction of a railway line towards both towns, and this led to the formation of the Ealing & South Harrow Railway. The railway line was intended to extend to South Harrow, which was then a rural area located to the south of Roxeth.

Construction of the railway line was completed by 1899, but the District Line faced financial difficulties that delayed its opening until 1903. Consequently, South Harrow became the terminus of a line extending from Park Royal & Twyford Abbey. The location around Northolt Road subsequently developed into South Harrow’s own commercial and residential hub.

The original station building was approximately 170 metres south of the present-day station. This extension marked a significant miles...
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SEPTEMBER

2023

Great Portland Street
Great Portland Street is a London Underground station near Regent’s Park Great Portland Street station was opened on 10 January 1863 as Portland Road, renamed Great Portland Street and Regents Park in 1923 and changed to its present name on 1 March 1917.

The station’s present structure, constructed in 1930, is situated on a traffic island at the intersection of Marylebone Road, Great Portland Street and Albany Street. This building features a steel-framed design with a cream terracotta exterior. The station’s perimeter also houses shops and, in the past, included a car showroom with office spaces above it. Notably, Great Portland Street was a significant sales location for the motor industry. The station’s architectural design, credited to C.W. Fowler, earned it a Grade II listing in January 1987.

The area around Great Portland Street station offers various points of interest. Regent’s Park and the iconic BT Tower are nearby attractions. Additionally, the station’s proximity to Regen...
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SEPTEMBER

2023

Courtfield Gardens, SW5
Courtfield Gardens is named after the field beneath it, cultivated until the 19th century According to 16th-century records, Courtfield Gardens was built on a vast open meadow known as Great Courtfield. This meadow was surrounded by fertile land and small farms and was part of a large area of land that extended from Cromwell Road to The Old Brompton Road in one direction, and from Gloucester Road to Earl’s Court Road in the other direction. Great Courtfield was included in the Earl’s Court ’manor’.

During the 18th century, Earl’s Court House, a grand manor house, was constructed on the land that is now the western terrace of Barkston Gardens. This building replaced an extensive dwelling that was described in 1705 as having fountains, a marble-tiled dairy, engines for water, and impressive gates at its entrance.

In the 19th century, the area surrounding Courtfield Gardens was developed with rows of terraced houses, as the demand for housing in London grew. Earl’s Court House was demolished in the middle of th...
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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Matthew Proctor Blackheath Grove, SE3 Added: 7 Dec 2023 17:36 GMT	Blackheath Grove, SE3 Road was originally known as The Avenue, then became "The Grove" in 1942. From 1864 there was Blackheath Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on this street until it was destroyed by a V2 in 1944 Reply
Peter Gambia Street, SE1 Added: 4 Dec 2023 07:05 GMT	Gambia Street, SE1 Gambia Street was previously known as William Street. Reply
Eileen Brecknock Road, N7 Added: 10 Nov 2023 09:42 GMT	Brecknock Road Pleating Company My great grandparents ran the Brecknock Road pleating Company around 1910 to 1920 and my Grandmother worked there as a pleater until she was 16. I should like to know more about this. I know they had a beautiful Victorian house in Islington as I have photos of it & of them in their garden. Source: Family history Reply
Squirrel’s Lane, IG9 Added: 6 Nov 2023 16:59 GMT	061123 Why do Thames Water not collect the 15 . Three meter lengths of blue plastic fencing, and old pipes etc. They left here for the last TWO Years, these cause an obstruction,as they halfway lying in the road,as no footpath down this road, and the cars going and exiting the park are getting damaged, also the public are in Grave Danger when trying to avoid your rubbish and the danger of your fences. Source: Squirrels Lane. Buckhurst Hill, Essex. IG9. I want some action ,now, not Excuses.MK. Reply
Christian Cornwall Road, W11 Added: 31 Oct 2023 10:34 GMT	Cornwall Road, W11 Photo shows William Richard Hoare’s chemist shop at 121 Cornwall Road. Reply
Vik Oaks Road, TW6 Added: 30 Oct 2023 18:48 GMT	Old pub sign from the Rising Sun Hi I have no connection to the area except that for the last 30+ years we’ve had an old pub sign hanging on our kitchen wall from the Rising Sun, Stanwell, which I believe was / is on the Oaks Rd. Happy to upload a photo if anyone can tell me how or where to do that! Reply
Phillip Martin Ashburnham Place, SE10 Added: 16 Oct 2023 06:25 GMT	16 Ashburnham Road On 15 October 1874 George Frederick Martin was born in 16 Ashburnham Road Greenwich to George Henry Martin, a painter, and Mary Martin, formerly Southern. Reply
Christine Bithrey Holly Park, N4 Added: 15 Oct 2023 15:20 GMT	The Hollies (1860 - 1900) I lived in Holly Park Estate from 1969 I was 8 years old when we moved in until I left to get married, my mother still lives there now 84. I am wondering if there was ever a cemetery within The Hollies? And if so where? Was it near to the Blythwood Road end or much nearer to the old Methodist Church which is still standing although rather old looking. We spent most of our childhood playing along the old dis-used railway that run directly along Blythwood Road and opposite Holly Park Estate - top end which is where we live/ed. We now walk my mothers dog there twice a day. An elderly gentleman once told me when I was a child that there used to be a cemetery but I am not sure if he was trying to scare us children! I only thought about this recently when walking past the old Methodist Church and seeing the flag stone in the side of the wall with the inscription of when it was built late 1880 If anyone has any answers please email me [email protected] Reply

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We now have 628 completed street histories and 46872 partial histories

APRIL

2019

Whitechapel Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Aldgate. It was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend and opened in 1901. It was one of the first publicly-funded galleries in London. The work of contemporary artists is featured alongside retrospective exhibitions and shows of interest to the local community.

The Whitechapel Gallery played an important part in the history of post-war British art.

Initiated by members of the Independent Group, the gallery brought Pop Art to the attention of the general public as well as introducing some of the artists, concepts, designers and photographers that would define the Swinging Sixties.

By the late 1970s, the preeminence of the Whitechapel Gallery was being threatened by newer venues such as the Hayward Gallery. The Whitechapel Gallery had a major refurbishment in 1986 and completed, in April 2009, a two-year programme of work to incorporate the former Passmore Edwards Library building next door. This has doubled the physical size of the Gallery and nearly...
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APRIL

2019

Blackheath
Blackheath is divided between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich with the borough boundary running across the middle of the heath. Blackheath Village, south of the heath, lies in Lewisham. The Blackheath Standard area and Westcombe Park lie on the north-east side in Greenwich. The name ’Blackheath’ derives from the dark colour of the soil in the area.

It was known to the Romans as a stopping point on Watling Street. Blackheath was a rallying point for the uprisings - Wat Tyler’s Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, and Jack Cade’s Kentish rebellion in 1450. After pitching camp on Blackheath, Cornish rebels were defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge to the west on 17 June 1497. Blackheath was a notorious haunt of highwaymen during the 17th century.

During the seventeenth century Blackheath was a common assembly point for English Armies. In 1673 the Blackheath Army was assembled under Marshal Schomberg to serve in the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

The main area of the village lies to the north side of Blackheath railway station (opened on 30 July 1849), between the south si...
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APRIL

2019

South Oxhey
South Oxhey, the catchment area for Carpender’s Park station, has a population of about 11,000 with a small centre consisted of shops, local amenities and estate agents. South Oxhey was a large housing estate built on land that was once part of the Oxhey Hall Estate. Oxhey Place - the local manor house - was once owned by the Blackwell family of Crosse and Blackwell fame but burnt down in 1960. Oxhey Chapel dates from 1612 and is still standing.

The estate was built by the London County Council after the Second World War to help alleviate the housing pressures after the Blitz as well as general inadequate housing. In 1980 the ownership and management of the estate was transferred to Three Rivers District Council and in 2008 to Thrive Homes housing association.

The parish church of All Saints was opened in 1954 to serve the new estate. The church was demolished and rebuilt in 2000.

The town has a number of pubs and there is a small selection of restaurants. A larger choice of entertainment can be found in Watford and other towns.

Separating South Oxhey and Northwood are Oxhey Woods. The woods are a nature reserve and offer pleasant walks.
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APRIL

2019

Ridley Road Market
Ridley Road Market is a market situated opposite Dalston Kingsland station just off the Kingsland High Street. Ridley Road has been the market’s home since the end of 1880s. It started with about 20 stalls but recently it had up to 150 stalls offering a diverse range.

Fruit and vegetables are sold from traditional barrows (trolleys) in the pedestrianised street from 8am-6pm daily (but not Sundays or Bank Holidays). There is a large range of traditional and exotic produce from around the world. There are other stalls and many other shops lining the street selling a wide variety of foods and household goods.
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APRIL

2019

Cock Lane, EC1A
Cock Lane leads from Giltspur Street in the east to Snow Hill in the west. Cock Lane was once ’Cokkes Lane’ and the site of legal brothels. The writer John Bunyan died from fever at 25 Cock Lane in 1688. The address became separately famous as both the site where the supposed Cock Lane ghost manifested itself in 1762.

The junction of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street was known as Pye Corner - famous as marking the furthest extent of the Great Fire of London.
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APRIL

2019

St George’s German Lutheran Church
St George’s German Lutheran Church is a church in Alie Street, Whitechapel. From its foundation in 1762 until 1995 it was used by German Lutherans. St George’s was the fifth Lutheran church to be built in London and is now the oldest surviving German Lutheran church in the United Kingdom.

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APRIL

2019

Pub location
The Vortex Jazz Club is a music venue, started by David Mossman in the 1980s. The Vortex began as a jazz club in 1987 and was located in Stoke Newington Church Street. After the acquisition of that building by property developers, the club was moved in 2005 to the Dalston Culture House in Gillett Street. It opened on 10 November 2006 with a performance by Andy Sheppard’s Saxophone Massive, a band of 200 saxophonists. The street in front of the club was renamed ’Aim Bailey Place’ in December 2007 in honor of guitarist Derek Bailey.
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APRIL

2019

Victoria Park
Victoria Park is a large open space that stretches out across part of the East End. The park was laid out by notable London planner and architect Sir James Pennethorne between 1842 and 1846. Reminiscent of Regent’s Park - the latter was designed by Pennethorne’s teacher, John Nash - it is considered as the finest park in East London. It is bounded on two sides by branches of the Regent’s Canal.

Two alcoves - the only two surviving fragments of the old London Bridge demolished in 1831 - are located at the east end of the park where they were placed in 1860. Alcoves such as these would have been important for pedestrian safety - the roadway was very narrow and the risk of being run down very high.

Victoria Park’s reputation as the ’People’s Park’ grew as it became a centre for political meetings and rallies. The biggest crowds were usually drawn to ’star’ socialist speakers such as William Morris and Annie Besant. The tradition of public speaking in the park continued until well after the second world war, and was still ...
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APRIL

2019

Dalston Kingsland
Kingsland railway station was first opened on this site in 1850, but was replaced by Dalston Junction in 1865. The current station was opened in 1983. Kingsland gets its name from the hunting grounds of a Tudor-era royal residence at Newington Green – "King’s Lands".

It was originally a small roadside settlement centred on the Old North Road near to the junction with Dalston Lane.

In 1672, Kingsland had 28 householders assessed for hearth tax. It expanded in the 18th century along Kingsland Road and by 1724 had five inns. The local parishes lobbied Parliament in 1713 for the right to set up a Turnpike Trust, to pay for the necessary maintenance to the North Road. Gates were installed at Kingsland and Stamford Hill to collect the tolls. Larger scale development began in 1807, and a new estate was created on Lamb Farm, to the south and west of the Dalston Lane junction.

The ’Lock Hospital’ for lepers was founded in 1280 by the City of London, as one of ten located on the main roads from the City. From 1549, the hospital was administered by St Bartholomew’s Hospit...
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APRIL

2019

Pimlico
Pimlico is known for its garden squares and Regency architecture. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Manor of Ebury was divided up and leased by the Crown to servants or favourites. In 1623, James I sold the freehold of Ebury - the land was sold on several more times until it came into the possession of heiress Mary Davies in 1666.

Mary’s dowry not only included modern-day Pimlico and Belgravia, but also most of what is now Mayfair and Knightsbridge. She was much pursued and in 1677 at the age of twelve she married Sir Thomas Grosvenor. The Grosvenors were a family of Norman descent long seated at Eaton Hall in Cheshire who until this auspicious marriage were only of local consequence in the county of Cheshire. Through the development and good management of this land, the Grosvenors acquired enormous wealth.

At some point in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, the area ceased to be known as Ebury (or ’The Five Fields’) and gained the name by which it is now known. According t...
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APRIL

2019

St Magnus-the-Martyr
St Magnus the Martyr church is dedicated to St Magnus the Martyr, earl of Orkney, who died on 16 April 1116. Archaeological evidence suggests that the area of London Bridge head was not occupied from the early 5th century until the early 10th century.

Environmental evidence indicates that the area was waste ground during this period, colonised by elder and nettles. Following Alfred’s decision to reoccupy the walled area of London in 886, new harbours were established at Queenhithe and Billingsgate. A bridge was in place by the early 11th century, a factor which would have encouraged the occupation of the bridgehead by craftsmen and traders.

St Magnus was built to the south of Thames Street to serve the growing population of the bridgehead area and was certainly in existence by 1128-33.

Until 1831, London Bridge was aligned with Fish Street Hill, so the main entrance into the City from the south passed the West door of St Magnus on the north bank of the river. The bridge included a chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket for the use of pilgrims...
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APRIL

2019

Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A
Lincoln’s Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder William Newton. Lincoln’s Inn Fields takes its name from the adjacent Lincoln’s Inn, from which the private gardens are separated by a perimeter wall and a large gatehouse.

Up to the 17th century, the fields were part of a agricultural land called Pursefield which belonged to St Giles Hospital. Katherine Smyth, the owner of the White Hart Inn on Drury Lane, leased the land from 1520 but then reverted to the Crown.

Its use as pasture meant that turnstiles were placed around the land to enable pedestrians to enter without animals escaping. Shops developed along these footpaths - still called Great Turnstile and Little Turnstile.

Inigo Jones drew out a plan for "laying out and planting" the fields but it was William Newton who was granted permission to erect 32 houses in what became known as Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 1638.

The completion of the houses that surrounded the fields proceeded slowly. The oldest building from the ear...
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APRIL

2019

Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Sometimes known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, it was founded in 1694, nationalised in 1946, and gained operational independence to set monetary policy in 1997.

After the ’Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, there were calls for a national public bank to stabilise the nation’s resources. Many schemes were proposed but the successful one was from William Paterson. This envisaged a loan of £1,200,000 to the Government but in return the subscribers would be incorporated as the ’Governor and Company of the Bank of England’. The Royal Charter was sealed on 27 July 1694, and the Bank started its official role which it continues today.

In 1734, the Bank acquired premises in Threadneedle Street. Over the next hundred years it added adjacent properties until the present island site was secured, and Sir John Soane’s massive curtain wall was erected round it.

The Bank’s notes became an accepted currency - people seldom doubte...
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APRIL

2019

Kamballa Road, SW11
Kamballa Road ran from Natal Road to Falcon Road. Alfred Heaver bought the land here in 1879 becoming part of the Falcon Park estate. Surveyor W. C. Poole planned the area, continuing Mantua Street eastwards. Two new streets, Heaver Road and Musjid Road were set out running between Natal Road and Falcon Road.

Kambala Road was built when in 1882 Alfred Heaver obtained building rights over a narrow market-garden field which lay south of the Prince’s Head and which had a house called Falcon House on it. The field had been leased in the 1850s to William Watling who had promised to build on it but instead rented out Falcon House and let the lands at the back for a piggery and cowsheds.

Watling’s grandson, John Stephens, acquired the freehold in 1880 just before he died. The leases for houses on
Kamballa Road houses were mostly giving out by his widow Emily Louise Stephens.

Between Kamballa and Musjid Roads, Arding and Hobbs had a warehouse and there were workshops for Munt Brothers...
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APRIL

2019

White City Stadium
White City Stadium was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, and hosted the finish of the first modern marathon. It was designed by J.J. Webster and completed within 10 months by George Wimpey on part of the site of the Franco-British Exhibition.

The stadium had a seating capacity of 68,000 was opened by King Edward VII on 27 April 1908. Upon completion, the stadium had a running track 24 ft wide and three laps to the mile. Outside the stadium there was a 660 yard cycle track.

Many events of the 1908 Olympics were held at the stadium. Even swimming was held at White City Stadium, in a 100-yard pool dug into the infield. The distance of the modern marathon was fixed at the 1908 Games and calculated from the start of the race at Windsor Castle to a point in front of the royal box at White City.

The original running track continued in use until 1914. There were attempts to sell the stadium in 1922, but several athletes in the team for the 1924 Summer Olympics used it for training.

From 1927 to 1984, it was a venue for greyhound racing, ho...
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APRIL

2019

South Ruislip
South Ruislip developed only in the twentieth century after the opening of the local station. A GWR/GCR joint line was built to High Wycombe from both Paddington and Marylebone. The two railways met at Northolt Junction, situated slightly to the east of the station.

South Ruislip station was opened on 1 May 1908 and was originally known as Northolt Junction. The station then became South Ruislip & Northolt Junction in 1932 and received its present name on 30 June 1947.

The station was first served by the Central line on 21 November 1948 when the Central line extension from London towards West Ruislip was finished. The concrete, glass and granite chip frieze in the booking hall is one of the earliest public works by glass artist, Henry Haig.
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APRIL

2019

Mill Hill East
Mill Hill East station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, and is the only station on a branch from Finchley Central. Mill Hill East station was built by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) and was opened as Mill Hill on 22 August 1867 by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) (which had taken over the EH&LR) in rural Middlesex. The station was on a line from Finsbury Park to Edgware via Highgate.

The EH&LR was built as a double track formation, but only a single track was laid, with the intention of doubling the track when business developed. However, when the GNR opened a branch from Finchley Central to High Barnet in April 1872 traffic on that section was greater, and the second track was never laid from Finchley Central to Edgware. For most of its history the service between those two stations was operated as a shuttle.

The station opened as Mill Hill and was given its present name in 1928.

The area around Mill Hill East has still the air of a village about it. It is quiet and very green with plenty of parks and golf courses to hand.

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APRIL

2019

Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields was in use as a burial ground from 1665 until 1854. By the mid nineteenth century, about approximately 123,000 interments were estimated to have taken place of which over 2000 monuments remain.

It contains the graves of many notable people including John Bunyan, author of ’The Pilgrim’s Progress’; Susanna Wesley, known as the "Mother of Methodism"; Daniel Defoe, author of ’Robinson Crusoe’; William Blake (died 1827), artist, poet, and mystic; . It was a nondenominational burial ground, and was particularly favoured by nonconformists.

On the far side of Bunhill Row is a Quaker burial ground, also sometimes also known by the name Bunhill Fields and in use from 1661 to 1855. Its remains are a public garden, Quaker Gardens, managed by the London Borough of Islington.
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APRIL

2019

Goodmayes
Goodmayes station was built in 1901 and forms part of the (Crossrail) Elizabeth line. Although Goodmayes appears on maps as early as the 1770s, the area remained largely undeveloped until the end of the 19th century when suburban development took place as London expanded. Most of the area was built up between 1898 and 1910 by the developer A. C. Corbett who used new stations on the Great Eastern Railway to promote new suburbs.

Goodmayes was part of the ancient parish of Barking until 1888 when it became part of the new parish of Ilford. The London Borough of Redbridge was formed in 1965 from Ilford and other areas.

Actors Cardew Robinson and Sir Ian Holm were born in Goodmayes.

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APRIL

2019

Roman Road, E3
Roman Road is divided into an E2 and E3 section. Roman Road was originally Green Street. A cast iron bridge was built in Green Street in 1866. As Twig Folly bridge, it was widened a century later.

The Roman Road Market may date from as early as 1843 but was certainly as a fully fledged street market in 1887 by poverty campaigner Charles Booth. He reported that "Roman Road ... is one of the great market streets in London. Things to be bought of every sort, even patent leather shoes."

By 1901 there were 90 stalls trading in Roman Road. Typical market produce, says romanroadlondon.com, would have included fruit and vegetables, fish, meat, furniture and clothing.

The market was partly pedestrianised after the Second World War. Two archways, erected in 1986, mark each end of the Roman Road Market. Nowadays, Roman Road Market operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The newspaper of the Suffragette movement was published from 321 Roman Road. The Suffragettes ran a stall in ...
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