The Watford and Edgware Railway (W&ER) was a company established in the 1860s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to build a railway between

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 ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, via

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

. Its planned route would have extended the railway line which forms part of the present-day

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, two ...

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 ...

network. Nothing substantial was constructed.

History

The W&ER had several proposed routes and stations but was generally intended to branch from the now closed

Edgware, Highgate and London Railway The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway was a railway in North London. The railway was a precursor of parts of London Underground's Northern line and was, in the 1930s the core of an ambitious expansion plan for that line which was thwarted by ...

(EH&LR) just before

Edgware station Edgware Station is a London Underground station in Edgware, in the London Borough of Barnet, in North London. The station is the northern terminus of the ''Edgware branch'' of the Northern line and the next station towards south is . Edgware ...

and take a northerly route, with intermediate stations suggested at various times for Stanmore (London Road), Elstree (for Brockley Hill), Caldecott Hill (for Bushey Heath), Old Bushey, and Heathbourne Road. The line was planned to terminate at a station on the eastern side of Watford High Street, close to the site of Watford Central which was later planned 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 ...

. One of the alternative proposals had it extend the

Watford and Rickmansworth Railway The Watford and Rickmansworth Railway (W&RR) ran services between Watford and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. The company was incorporated in 1860; the line opened in 1862. The Rickmansworth branch was closed in 1952, and the remaining ...

from

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and t ...

in the direction of

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

. The company's continuing failure to raise the capital needed to construct its line may have been partly due to the competition that it would have offered to existing services. Opposition came from the

London and 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 ...

to a junction at

and from the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

to a junction at Mill Hill Broadway. Eventually the Great Northern Railway (purchasers of the EH&LR before its opening) bought out the W&ER and continued to develop proposals although nothing was built. In 1922, 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 ...

(forerunner of most of the

) purchased the W&ER with the intention of using its land and right of way to continue the extension 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 ...

(CCE&HR, now part of the Northern line) that it was then building north from

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 ...

. Various plans were made but no construction took place. Work on the route finally started in 1935 as part of

Northern Heights 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, two ...

plan, through which London Underground was to take over the EH&LR lines, then part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, and join them to the Northern line. This extension adopted much of the W&ER's concept, including the location of the junction between

and

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

, the location of the station at

, and the route from Edgware to Old Bushey. The planned extension was to terminate at

Bushey Heath Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It has a population of over 25,000 inhabitants. Bushey Heath is a large neighbourhood south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow re ...

due to funding limitations, but provision was made in the design of the station for a further extension to Old Bushey. Earthworks were underway and the tunnel near Elstree South station and the viaduct for

Brockley Hill Brockley Hill, Stanmore, is an area of high ground on the outskirts of North London, England. The hill, which rises to above sea level, is traversed by the A5 road. It follows the course of the Roman road known as Watling Street. The hill is ...

station had been partly constructed when the start of

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 ...

caused works to cease. Work did not restart immediately after the war as there were stronger demands on funds for works elsewhere including the reconstruction of many damaged stations and the extensions of the Central line. After the introduction of

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

the Elstree and Bushey areas were protected against development, so the need for new stations to serve new residential developments in the area disappeared and the project was cancelled in 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watford And Edgware Railway Early British railway companies