Chalk Farm is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station near

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. It is on the Edgware branch of the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, tw ...

between

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...

and

stations. For ticketing purposes, Chalk Farm falls in

Travelcard Zone 2 Fare zone 2 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. Ba ...

. With slightly under five million entries and exits in 2011, Chalk Farm is one of the busiest stations on the Edgware branch of the Northern line.

History

The station was opened on 22 June 1907 by the

Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for ...

(CCE&HR). Trains originally operated between

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

and

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, with extensions to

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

and Kennington in 1923–24 and 1926, respectively. All trains ran via the Charing Cross branch. As part of a comprehensive signing scheme, the 'UndergrounD' lettering was added in 1908. With the subsequent extension of the

City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing ...

(C&SLR) to Camden Town in 1924, the CCE&HR and C&SLR were joined, allowing through running on the Bank branch and service as far south as

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of g ...

, extending to

Morden Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester ...

in 1926.

Station layout

Chalk Farm station lies at the intersection of Chalk Farm Road, Haverstock Hill (the northern extension of Camden High Street) and Adelaide Road, which create an angular intersection that forms the centre of the neighbourhood of the same name.

Architecture

Chalk Farm's narrow, wedge-shaped station building gives it the longest frontage of any of the stations designed by architect

Leslie Green Leslie William Green (6 February 1875 – 31 August 1908) was an English architect. He is best known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20t ...

for the three tube lines owned by the

Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...

and opened in 1906 and 1907. It also has the shallowest lift shafts of any Underground station (21 ft). Station refurbishment by

Tube Lines Tube Lines Limited, initially known as 'Infraco JNP' (an amalgamation of infrastructure and company), is an asset-management company responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure, including track, trains, signals, ci ...

was completed in 2005. The station is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Connections

London Buses routes 31, 168 and 393 and night routes N5, N28 and N31 serve the station.

Gallery

File:Chalk Farm tube station.jpg, Haverstock Hill elevation File:Chalk Farm stn southbound look north.JPG, Southbound platform looking north File:Chalk Farm stn northbound look south.JPG, Northbound platform looking south File:Chalk Farm stn tiling.JPG, Tiling on northbound platform File:Chalk Farm stn roundel.JPG, Roundel on northbound platform

In popular culture

London Ska/Pop band Madness posed outside of Chalk Farm tube station for the covers of their no. 2 UK hit album ''Absolutely'' and no. 3 UK single

Baggy Trousers "Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album '' Absolutely''. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman,Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on 1 July 2007. and reminisces abou ...

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** {{Northern line navbox Northern line stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Camden Former Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway stations London Underground stations located underground Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907 Leslie Green railway stations Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Grade II listed railway stations London Underground Night Tube stations