Lord's was 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 located in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

, north-west London. It was opened in 1868 by the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

on its Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway line, which is now part of the Underground's

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...

. It was known by several different names throughout its history; by the time of its closure in 1939 its name was taken from the nearby

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

History

Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway, circa 1867

The station was opened on 13 April 1868 as St. John's Wood Road. It was on the Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway, the first northward branch extension from

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The ...

of the

(MR), the precursor of today's

. The station was located at the junction of St. John's Wood Road, Wellington Road and Park Road. The original station building was cramped and unable to cope with peak demand during matches at the nearby

. It was demolished and reconstructed in 1924–25, to a design by the MR's architect

Charles W. Clark Charles William Clark (15 October 1865 – 4 August 1925) was an American baritone singer and vocalist teacher. He is generally regarded as the first American baritone singer to be famous in Europe, and as one of the greatest baritone si ...

, with a larger building that enclosed the space above the platforms with a concrete slab to form a parking garage under the original glazed platform roof. Upon reopening, the station's name was shortened to St. John's Wood on 1 April 1925. It was renamed again, as Lord's, on 11 June 1939. In the mid-1930s the Metropolitan line was suffering congestion at the south end of its main route, where trains from its many branches shared the limited capacity between

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

and Baker Street. To ease this congestion, deep-level tunnels were built between Finchley Road station and the

Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...

tunnels at Baker Street station. On 20 November 1939, the Metropolitan line's service to

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

was transferred to the Bakerloo line and diverted to Baker Street via the new tunnels. A new Bakerloo line station named

was opened to replace Lord's station. It had been the intention of the Underground's management to close Lord's station to normal services, but retain it for temporary use during top-class cricket matches; the advent of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led this plan to be abandoned, and the station closed permanently after the last train on 19 November 1939. The surface building survived until the late 1960s, when it was demolished. The site is now occupied by a hotel. An emergency access point existed as of 2004 and a stairwell went to a piece of the platform remaining at the trackside as a result of it.

References

Bibliography

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External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** **
Disused stations – Lords

"Lords"
Hidden London Hangouts #3.02,

London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...

via YouTube, 16 January 2021 {{closed london underground stations Metropolitan line stations Disused London Underground stations Disused railway stations in the City of Westminster Former Metropolitan Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1868 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1939 History of the City of Westminster St John's Wood

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links