Covent Garden 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 serving

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

and the surrounding area in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

. It is on the

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are n ...

between

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

and

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

stations and is in

Travelcard Zone 1 Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used by the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail. For most tickets, travel through Zone 1 is more expensive than journeys ...

. The station is at the corner of

Long Acre Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and l ...

and James Street and the street-level concourse 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 ...

History

The station was planned by the

Great Northern and Strand Railway Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

(GN&SR), which had received parliamentary approval for a route from

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...

station (now Alexandra Palace) to Strand in 1899. After the GN&SR was taken over by the

Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway Brompton or The Brompton may refer to: * Brompton, London * Brompton, Hambleton, north of Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England * Brompton, Kent * Brompton, Quebec, a borough of Sherbrooke, in Canada * Brompton, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Engl ...

(B&PCR) in September 1901, the two companies came under the control of

Charles Yerkes Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. ( ; June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier. He played a part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London. Philadelphia Yerkes was born into a Quaker family in the Northern Liberties, ...

' Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company before being transferred to his new

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

, 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 ...

(UERL) in June 1902. To connect the two companies' planned routes, the UERL obtained permission for new tunnels between Piccadilly Circus and

. The companies were formally merged as the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway following parliamentary approval in November 1902. The station was opened by the

Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London.A "tube" railway is an underground rail ...

on 11 April 1907, four months after services on the rest of the line began operating on 15 December 1906. In 1929, Covent Garden was suggested for closure in connection with the extension of the Piccadilly line: the elimination of less-busy stations in the central area would improve both reliability and journey times for long-distance commuters, though the closure did not proceed. In 2011, English Heritage gave the station frontage Grade II listed status, on account of it being a good example of Leslie Green's architecture.

The station today

Design

Like the rest of the original GNP&BR stations, the street level station building and platform tiling were designed by

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 ...

in the

Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of th ...

. As is commonplace with other Central London stations Green designed, the station building is a classic red 'Oxblood' building which has two elevations fronting onto the end of James Street and Long Acre. The platform wall was tiled with two shades of yellow and white tiling which formed geometric shapes along with three blank spaces to incorporate the station name. As part of Transport for London's investment programme, the ageing tiling dating back from the station's opening was replaced in 2010 in a like-for-like basis, retaining the look and feel of the platforms.

Platform level tiling

The stations along the central part of the Piccadilly line, as well as some sections of the Northern line, were financed by

, and are famous for the

designed red station buildings and distinctive platform tiling. Each station had its own unique tile pattern and colours.

Access

Covent Garden station is one of the few stations in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

for which platform access is only by

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

or an emergency

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

with 193 steps. There are four lifts that give access to street level, although a final flight of stairs from the lifts to the platforms means that the station is wheelchair-inaccessible.

Proximity to Leicester Square

The journey between Leicester Square station and Covent Garden takes only about 20 seconds, and measures only , the shortest distance between two adjacent stations on the Underground network. The stations are so close that a pedestrian standing halfway between them on

can see both tube stations by turning around 180°. As of 2022, the cash fare for the journey is £6.30, or £36.21 per mile. In 2015, at £29.81/mi, the journey was more expensive per unit distance than the

Venice-Simplon Orient Express The ''Venice Simplon-Orient-Express'' (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond, which operates 45 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruises in ...

. Posters at the station give details of the alternative methods of getting to and from Covent Garden using surrounding stations.

Services and connections

Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–7 minutes in both directions. As a part of the Piccadilly line, the train is served by

Night Tube The Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the London Underground ("Tube") and London Overground systems which provides through-the-night services on Friday and Saturday ni ...

on Friday and Saturday nights.

Folklore

It is said that the ghost of actor

William Terriss William Terriss (20 February 1847 – 16 December 1897), born as William Charles James Lewin, was an English actor, known for his swashbuckling hero roles, such as Robin Hood, as well as parts in classic dramas and comedies. He was also a nota ...

(murdered in 1897) haunts the station. It is claimed that he used to visit a bakery demolished when the station was built. The last reported sighting of Terriss was in 1972.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2013 Piccadilly line stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the City of Westminster Former Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway stations London Underground stations located underground Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907

Tube station 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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Und ...

Leslie Green railway stations 1907 establishments in England