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

JULY

2019

Alderney Street, SW1V
Alderney Street was originally Stanley Street, after George Stanley, local landowner. The Stanley family owned a plot of land here for centuries - hence the Stanley Arms in Lupus Street and Stanley Place. Streets of this name were so numerous in London that it had to be changed.

The streetname was changed to ’Alderley Street’ in 1879, still in honour of the Stanley of Alderley family. The family seemed not to be pleased with this change and so the name was changed once again.
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JULY

2019

St Mary Abbot’s
St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8. The present church structure was built in 1872 and designed by the celebrated architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, combining neo-Gothic and early-English styles. This edifice remains noted for having the tallest spire in London and is the latest in a series on the site since the beginning of the 12th century.
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JULY

2019

Walbrook Wharf
Walbrook Wharf is an operating freight wharf located in the City of London adjacent to Cannon Street station. It is used as a waste transfer station owned by the City of London Corporation and operated by Cory Environmental. Refuse from central London is transferred onto barges for transport to the Belvedere Incinerator in the London Borough of Bexley.

Walbrook Wharf was formerly arranged as a dock, but modern containerised loading has resulted in the infilling of the dock. The wharf is the point where the ancient stream, the Walbrook fed into the Thames, a location also known as Dowgate.
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JULY

2019

Blythe House
Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road. Blythe House was built between 1899 and 1903 as the main office of the Post Office Savings Bank, which had outgrown its previous headquarter in Queen Victoria Street. By 1902 the Bank had 12,000 branches and more than 9 million accounts.

Blythe House included a post office intended to deal with the official correspondence involved in the work of the Savings Bank. The post office handled about 100,000 letters every working day.

In 1963 the government announced that the Bank’s main centre of operations would be moved to Glasgow. A small headquarters staff remained in London, moving to Charles House on Kensington High Street. The Bank finally left Blythe House in the early 1970s.
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JULY

2019

St Gregory by St Paul’s
St Gregory’s by St Paul’s was a parish church in the Castle Baynard ward of the City of London. The church was dedicated to St Gregory the Great. It was in existence by 1010, when the body of St Edmund was housed there. The remains of the king, martyred in 870, had been translated to London from Bury St Edmunds by Alwyn, later Bishop of Elmham, for safe-keeping during a period of Danish raids, and were returned there three years later. The patronage of the church originally belonged to the crown, but during the reign of Henry VI it was transferred to the minor canons of St Paul’s.

Between June and November 1571, services were transferred from St Paul’s to St Gregory’s while fire damage was being repaired in the cathedral.

On 19 December 1591, Elizabeth Baldry, wife of the 2nd Baron Rich and mother-in-law to Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, was buried at St Gregory’s.

The existence of the church came under threat while Inigo Jones was remodelling the cathedral in the 17th century. At first he thought that he could accommodate St G...
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JULY

2019

Passmore Edwards Public Library
The Passmore Edwards Public Library on the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, was built in 1895 and funded by the journalist and philanthropist Passmore Edwards. It is one of a number of public libraries that still bear his name today. In 2008 a new library was built in Shepherd’s Bush, part of the substantial Westfield London development, and the Passmore Edwards library fell into disuse. In October 2011 it re-opened as the new home of the Bush Theatre.

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JULY

2019

Bishop’s Wood
Together with Winnington Road, Ingram Avenue and the reknowned Bishop’s Avenue, the wood was named after Arthur Winnington-Ingram, who as Bishop of London owned much of the surrounding area following a land grant in 704 AD. Bishop’s Wood, with one further to the north called Mutton Wood, and another to the west known as Wild Wood, was a portion of the great wood attached to the estate and castle of the Bishop of London, at Highgate.

In 1755 it was purchased by Lord Mansfield, and left as a wild copse, strictly preserved as a cover for game.

Most of the land was sold privately in the early 20th century.
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JULY

2019

Boyle Street, W1S
Boyle Street was built on a piece of land called the Ten Acres to discharge some Boyle family debts. The Boyle family were the Earls of Burlington who held land rather than had money.

Jabez Collier, a lawyer, suggested that part of the Ten Acres, also known as Crabtree Field, which the Burlingtons used as a garden should be given over to building leases. In January 1718, Lord Burlington submitted a Bill in the House of Lords to permit him to grant building leases of the part of the Ten Acres lying behind Burlington-House Garden. On this piece of ground were built Boyle Street, Cork Street, Clifford Street, Old Burlington Street and some houses in New Bond Street.

The street runs east-west from the junction of the Coach and Horses Yard and Old Burlington Street, to Savile Row. Although mainly offices now, the street once had houses and the Burlington Charity Schoolhouse, built about 1720.
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JULY

2019

Northwick Park
Northwick Park is a park, suburb and tube station. The park was originally an estate which was part of Sheepcote Farm and named after its lord, Northwick. Middlesex County Council acquired 192 acres in the 1930s to create public land. The amount of public open space has since diminished, partly due to the building of Northwick Park Hospital.

The Metropolitan Railway run their lines through here in 1880. The station opened only in 1923 as the surrounding suburbs were built.

Kenton station on the Bakerloo line and London Overground is within walking distance.
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