Mornington Crescent 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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

station in Somers Town in north west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, named after the nearby street. The station is on the Charing Cross 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, t ...

, between and stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station was opened as part of the original route of 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 ...

(now the Charing Cross branch of the

) on 22 June 1907. The surface building was designed 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 ...

's (UERL's) architect Leslie Green 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 in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement which was native ...

. Prior to the station's opening, the name of "Seymour Street" had been proposed. After opening, it was little used. For many years it was open only on weekdays, and before 1966 Edgware-bound trains passed through without stopping.

Location

The station is situated at the southern end of

Camden High Street The A400 road is an A road in London that runs from Charing Cross (near Trafalgar Square, in London's West End) to Archway in North London. It passes some of London's most famous landmarks. The Northern line (Charing Cross and High Barnet ...

, where it meets Hampstead Road and Eversholt Street. This junction forms the north-western corner of the boundary of Somers Town, with

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 ...

situated to the north and

Regent's Park Estate Regent's Park Estate is a large housing estate in the London Borough of Camden. The estate consists of nearly 2,000 homes across 49 buildings and lies on either side of Robert Street, between Albany Street and Hampstead Road. It is immediate ...

to the south of the station. The station's location on the

is unusual due to the dual-branch nature of that line. On the branch, Mornington Crescent is between and . The City branch also runs from Camden Town to Euston, but via tunnels which take an entirely different route to the Charing Cross branch and which do not pass through Mornington Crescent. Although modern-day tube maps show Mornington Crescent to the west of the City branch tunnels, it is actually to the east of them: the two branches cross over each other at Euston, so that between Euston and Camden Town, the City branch tunnels run to the west of the Charing Cross branch on which Mornington Crescent is situated.

Harry Beck Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...

's 1933 tube map represented this correctly.

Closure and reopening

On 23 October 1992 the station was shut so that the then 85-year-old lifts could be replaced. The intention was to open it within one year. However, due to lack of funding and the state of neglect, the station remained closed for 6 years. A concerted campaign to reopen the station was launched, with pressure from Camden Council, and assistance from the popular BBC Radio 4 panel game ''

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a pa ...

''. The show frequently features the game ''

Mornington Crescent Mornington Crescent is a terraced street in Camden Town, Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. Many of the houses were subdivided into flats during the Victorian era, an ...

'', which takes its name from the station. During the station's rebuilding, the original distinctive light blue tiling pattern was restored to the station (though taking into account modern fire safety requirements). The ticket hall was reconstructed and the original emergency stairs closed. A second lift shaft was converted (losing the unnecessary extra two lifts) into a staircase on one side and a series of station facilities on the other. After substantial refurbishment, the station was reopened on 27 April 1998 by the regular cast of ''

'' (

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president ...

and

Graeme Garden David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Early life and education ...

). A memorial plaque to the late Willie Rushton, one of the longest-serving panelists, was installed at the station in 2002. Since its 1998 reopening, the station has been open at the same times as most other stations, including weekends, in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the increasingly busy nearby station.

In popular culture

In film

* The station was used as a location for the anthology film '' Tube Tales'' (1999). *It was portrayed in the film '' Honest'' (2000), although the station actually used was

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the city ...

. * In '' Allt flyter'' (2008), Sara meets her mother (who has moved there from Sweden for a sportscasting job) outside the station during a Christmas trip to London.

In radio

* ''

'' is a spoof game, featured since the 1970s in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

comedy panel show ''

'', which satirises complicated strategy games. A Comic Heritage

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

honouring Willie Rushton, one of the show's longest-serving panelists, was installed within the station in 2002. It is located behind the ticket barrier at the top of the stairs to the platform.

In literature

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and literary critic. He often describes his work as '' weird fiction'' and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called '' New Weird''. M ...

mentions this station and its long state of disuse during the 1990s in his novel '' King Rat'' (1998), also using it as scene of a brutal murder by dismemberment via a passing train. * In ''

The Atrocity Archives ''The Laundry Files'' is a series of novels by British writer Charles Stross. They mix the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour. Their main character for the first five novels is "Bob Howard" (a p ...

'' (2004) by

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

, the secret main entrance to the extremely secret Government establishment (the "Laundry") which the protagonist Bob Howard works for is situated in the gentlemen's toilets of Mornington Crescent tube station. * In

Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler (born 26 March 1953) is an English thriller writer. While working in the British film industry he became the author of fifty novels and short-story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries, which record the adventures ...

's "Bryant & May" mysteries, the offices of the Peculiar Crimes Unit are above Mornington Crescent tube station. * Mornington Crescent is used by Robert Rankin in many of his novels as the home of the Ministry of Serendipity, a fictional agency whose main activity is to ensure the British Empire rules the globe, the

top secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

nature of the ministry being the main reason why the station was only open on weekdays and closed for "repairs" for much of the 1990s.

In music

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...

released a song entitled "Mornington Crescent" on their 2006 album, ''

The Life Pursuit ''The Life Pursuit'' is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. It was released in Europe on 6 February 2006 by Rough Trade Records and in North America on 7 February 2006 by Matador Records. The models on the al ...

''. * My Life Story's 1995 album ''Mornington Crescent'' takes its name from the station, featuring photos in its sleeve notes. * The promotional video for " Be There" by Unkle was filmed in this station.

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 24, 27, 29, 46, 134,

168 Year 168 ( CLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 921 ''Ab urbe co ...

214 Year 214 ( CCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Suetrius (or, less frequently, year 967 ''Ab urbe con ...

, 253 and 274 and night routes N5, N20, N28, N29, N31, N253 and N279 serve the station.

Gallery

File:Mornington Crescent stn southbound look south.JPG, Southbound platform looking south File:Mornington Crescent stn northbound look north.JPG, Northbound platform looking north File:Mornington Crescent stn tiling.JPG, Tiling on the platform File:Mornington Crescent stn roundel.JPG, Roundel on the platform File:Willie Rushton's blue plaque in Mornington Crescent station.jpg, Willie Rushton blue plaque in station

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 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1907 London Underground stations located underground Camden Town Leslie Green railway stations London Underground Night Tube stations