Shoreditch was a railway station on the

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell ...

(NLR) in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, London, that was in use from 1865 to 1940. It was situated on a viaduct between

Haggerston Haggerston is a locale in East London, England, centred approximately on Great Cambridge Street (now renamed Queensbridge Road). It is within the London Borough of Hackney and is considered to be a part of London's East End. It is about 3.1 mi ...

and Broad Street stations. It should not be confused with Shoreditch Underground station (1869–2006) on the

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 ...

, situated about half a mile further south. It was also not the first main line railway station to possess the Shoreditch name;

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

(1840–1875) was originally given that name.

Pre grouping history (1865-1922)

When the East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway (known as the

(NLR) from 1853) started operating on 26 September 1850, they shared a London terminus at

Fenchurch Street railway station Fenchurch Street railway station, also known as London Fenchurch Street, is a central London railway terminus in the southeastern corner of the City of London. It takes its name from its proximity to Fenchurch Street, a key thoroughfare in the ...

with the London and Blackwall Railway which involved a circuitous route from north London via Hackney, Bow and East Stepney for city bound passengers. An act of parliament saw the NLR apply to build a two-mile extension from Dalston to a new London terminus at

Broad Street railway station (England) Broad Street was a major terminal station in the City of London, adjacent to Liverpool Street station. It served as the main terminus of the North London Railway (NLR) network, running from 1865 to 1986. During its lifetime, it catered for main ...

. This was passed in 1861 and the majority of the line was built on a viaduct now known as the

Dalston Viaduct Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...

. A significant number of properties were demolished to make way for the new railway. The original railway had three tracks and Shoreditch station had three platform faces.The memories and writings of a London Railwayman by A A Jackson incorrectly states on Page 68 that platforms were provided on all four roads. It was situated partly on the viaduct and partly on the bridge over Old Street. It was a flat roofed square two storey brick station building located on the corner of Kingsland Road and Old Street. Connor suggests the ticket office was at street level and stairs took you up to platform level which were accommodated within the building. The structure had a number of elegant arched windows and was typical of many NLR stations. There were a number of structures, mostly of timber construction, on the platforms containing offices, waiting rooms etc. The station was opened on 1 November 1865 - the same date as Broad Street and services started operating to

Poplar (East India Road) Poplar may refer to: Plants *'' Populus'', the plant genus which includes most poplars, as well as aspen and cottonwood ** Black poplar (''Populus nigra'') ** Carolina or Canadian poplar, '' Populus × canadensis'' ** Grey poplar (''Populus × ...

station. A fourth track which did not have a platform face was added in July 1874 and used by other NLR passenger services (e.g. to Richmond) and goods trains to and from Broad Street goods depots. The first signal box was located north of the island platform between the two sets of running lines and this was relocated on 5 December 1875 during platform lengthening work. A second signal box was added (about halfway up the island platform on the west side of the line) in April 1893 and the two signal boxes were named Shoreditch No 1 and Shoreditch No 2 (the new box). This arrangement lasted until 1909 when No 1 box was abolished and No 2 box reverted to the name Shoreditch. Tram traffic began to take a sizable part of the stations business during the early part of the 20th Century and Sunday services were withdrawn on 20 May 1918. The

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

(LNWR) took over the working of the North London Railway under a common management arrangement on 1 February 1909 although the North London Railway continued to exist until 1922. In 1916 the two westerly lines were electrified for Broad Street to Richmond services and the two sets of running lines were known as No. 2 Electrics (west side of viaduct) and No 1 Steam (east side of the viaduct). A few up electric services did call at Shoreditch as there was no fourth platform provided.

Services

It was initially served by local services from Broad Street to

Poplar (East India Road) railway station Poplar (East India Road) was a railway station located on the East India Dock Road in Poplar, London. It was opened in 1866 by the North London Railway. It was the southern passenger terminus of the NLR, although goods trains ran on to connect ...

on the City Extension of the

. Between 1870 and 1890 some Poplar services were extended to/from Blackwall on the Great Eastern Railway line from Fenchurch Street. Later Great Northern Railway services to New Barnet, Alexandra Palace, High Barnet and Gordon Hill called during the peak hours.

Shoreditch (Dunloe Street depot)

This depot handled coal traffic and was located a quarter of a mile north of the station on the east side of the line. It was opened by the LNWR in March 1893 and closed in June 1968. A signal box was located here on the west side of the line. This opened in 1892 and was closed in 1976. The eastward extension that used to accommodate the site has been largely demolished and appears to be used for container storage at the northern end. A small section exists south of Cremer Street which is where the southern rail exit to the sidings was located.

London Midland & Scottish Railway (1923-1940)

Following the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

, also known as the grouping act, operation of the station fall under the control of the

London Midland & Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

. The station building was replaced between 1925 and 1928 as part of a road widening scheme undertaken by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and was an attractive three story pale red brick building built in the style of the time. The design was complemented by stone work including the words "LM1928SR" and the winged symbol they then used. The exit was at the corner of Kingsland Road and Old Street and the arrival hall attractively laid out in ceramic tiles. These were a buff colour with burnt orange, black and brown detailing. The subway to the island was done out in white glazed brick and the station building now included a parcels office. Following that, services were withdrawn on 6 October 1940 following air raid damage in

World War II 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 ...

elsewhere on the line although Connor suggests trains had not run for some weeks previously. The station stayed open selling tickets until 17 November 1941.

After closure (1940-present day)

The Poplar service continued to pass through Shoreditch but this was withdrawn on 15 May 1944 due to bomb damage between Dalston and Poplar and declining passenger numbers. The following August the station building was slightly damaged by a V-1 rocket explosion. After the war the station building was taken over by a dress making firm. The wooden platform awnings were taken down between 1953 and 1956 and during late 1965 most of the other timber platform level buildings were removed down. The buildings that housed the stairwells survived along with some brick structures but these succumbed in late 1971. The platforms also remained intact until they were demolished in 2005, in conjunction with the East London line extension project. The "Steam" lines (also known as No 1 lines) were lifted sometime during the 1970s and traffic declined at Broad Street until that station was closed on 30 June 1986 with the former No 2 electric lines being lifted soon after. After that the track bed through the station remained overgrown and unused until the East London Line extension was opened in 2010. The station did not re-open as part of the East London Line extension but a new station called

Shoreditch High Street Shoreditch High Street is the old main street of Shoreditch, London. It is part of the A10 road and connects Norton Folgate to the south with Kingsland Road to the north. It constitutes a segment of the Roman Ermine Street, which ran directl ...

was constructed nearby. The line does however pass through the Shoreditch station site. The station's buildings on the corner of

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High ...

and

Kingsland Road Kingsland Road is the name given to an East London stretch of the A10 road within the London Borough of Hackney in England. The A10 was originally a Roman Road better known as Ermine Street or sometimes the Old North Road. The name ''Kingslan ...

remain intact and are in use as commercial premises within which the original stairs to the platforms remain intact.

Notes

References

External links

Subterranea Britannica: Shoreditch Station

{{coord, 51.5275, -0.0786, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in the London Borough of Hackney Former North London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1940

Railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...