St. John's Wood is a
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The Undergro ...
station located in
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...
in the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
, north-west London. It was opened in 1939 as a stop on the
Bakerloo line
The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and 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 par ...
. Today, the station is on the
Jubilee line
The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
between
Swiss Cottage
Swiss Cottage is an area 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 area was ...
and
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises.
The street is ...
stations and is in
Travelcard Zone 2. Essentially, St. John's Wood station is a local station with the nearby
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 London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...
bypassing this station. A Jubilee line journey between St. John's Wood and Baker Street typically takes less than three minutes.
Location
The station building is located on the corner of Acacia Road and Finchley Road
and
tube map
The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic transport map of the lines, stations and services of the London Underground, known colloquially as "the Tube", hence the map's name. The first schematic Tube map was des ...
s from late 1938 and early 1939 indicate that it was originally to be given the name Acacia Road or Acacia.
This station is the nearest to
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
and
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
.
The station is therefore not to be confused with
Abbey Road DLR station in east London.
History
Station origin as Lord's Tube Station
''Further Information:
Lord's Tube Station
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
''
In 1868, the original Tube network extended from St John’s Wood to Swiss Cottage stopping at St John’s Wood and Marlborough Road. St John’s Wood station was right next to Lord’s Cricket Ground and during matches, it even had its own ticket office at the ground. The following year, the Finchally Line tried to extend to Finchley Road in order to get a bigger catchmatch area, but it was not successful. Eventually, they wanted to extend the line to West Hampstead, but were not successful at doing so.
Transfer from Lord's to St John's Wood
St John’s Wood Station was not always named St John’s Wood and nor was it always in the same location. The original station in St John’s Wood was named St John’s Wood Road, then St John’s Wood and finally Lords, which was on the Metropolitan Line. Lord’s was once the only station that allowed customers to park their cars on the roof instead of in a ground-level car park or parking garage.
Right after the start of World War II, Lord’s was renamed to St John’s Wood and the new station served the present-day Bakerloo line. Meanwhile both Lord’s and nearby Marlborough Road shut down due to the close proximity.
During the Second World War, the station was used as a shelter and even had flats that had rooms for servants. Most of the recreational facilities were a short Tube ride away near present day Finchley Road. Despite this, there were still canteens, libraries, bunks and drinking water.

The station was opened on 20 November 1939 on a new section of deep-level tunnel constructed between Baker Street and
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 road, A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels oft ...
when the
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 London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...
's services on its
Stanmore
Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
branch were transferred to the
Bakerloo line
The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and 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 par ...
.
The new station replaced two nearby stations on the Metropolitan line which had closed the previous day. These were
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
(originally named ''St. John's Wood Road'', then ''St. John's Wood'' and, finally, ''Lord's'') and
Marlborough Road.
The station was transferred along with the rest of the Stanmore branch to the Jubilee line when it opened on 1 May 1979.
The station building designed by
Stanley Heaps is
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
.
The platform design remains the same as when opened in 1939, with ceramic relief tiles designed by Harold Stabler and that were also fitted to a number of other contemporary stations. In 2006, the tiles were cleaned up and replaced.
Transfer from Bakerloo line to Jubilee line
After the start of World War II, Lord's station closed and was replaced by St John's Wood, which was on the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line. At the time, there were two northern branches of this line: the Stanmore branch and the Watford branch. In 1979, the Jubilee line was opened and replaced the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo line. The Watford branch of the Bakerloo line was changed to the northern side to Harrow & Wealdstone.
In March 2007, a test was held at the station to allow understanding of how toxic gas might spread throughout London Underground stations and buildings during a terrorist attack.
A non-toxic test gas –
Sulfur hexafluoride
Sulfur hexafluoride or sulphur hexafluoride ( British spelling) is an inorganic compound with the formula SF6. It is a colorless, odorless, non-flammable, and non-toxic gas. has an octahedral geometry, consisting of six fluorine atoms attache ...
– was released throughout the station, and monitored as it drifted around.
The station operated as normal throughout the tests.
Services
St John's Wood station is on the Jubilee line between
Swiss Cottage
Swiss Cottage is an area 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 area was ...
to the north and
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder James Baker. The area was originally high class residential, but now is mainly occupied by commercial premises.
The street is ...
to the south. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 2–5 minutes between 05:54 and 00:18 in both directions. During some events at Lord's Cricket Ground, this station sometimes becomes exit only. Other nearby stations are
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...
,
Warwick Avenue, Swiss Cottage and Baker Street.
Up-lighters
Up-lighters are lights that are seen along the escalator as a way to help see and provide light all the way from the street to the platform. It also helps keep the passengers in line with where they are going at all times. The up-lighters date back to 1939 when the station first opened.
Incidents
In the spring of 2021, there was an incident where a passenger was found on the tracks. It led to life-changing injuries and the individual was taken to hospital. There were no grounds for suspicion but police and fire officers were sent to St John’s Wood station in order to investigate the issue. This caused the Jubilee line to be suspended and then it was running on severe delays due to the incident.
Accessibility
There is one gate inward and one gate outward from the Tube that is big enough to fit a buggy or wheelchair. The station is not step free and the only way to access the platforms is by escalator or stairs. Prior to 1993, it was illegal to have a wheelchair anywhere on the London Underground due to fire safety concerns.
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
13,
46,
113 113 may refer to:
*113 (number), a natural number
*AD 113, a year
*113 BC, a year
*113 (band), a French hip hop group
*113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route
*113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...
,
187 and night route
N113 serve the station.
Nearby points of interest
*
Abbey Road Studio
*
Lord’s Cricket Ground
*
MCC Museum
*
St John’s Wood Park
*
London Central Mosque
The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London.
Design and location
It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and ...
*
Regents Park
*
The Star, former pub in operation since the 1820s, now a gastropub of the Drunch chain
In popular culture
The station appeared in the music video for "Bedsitter" by
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...
.
[
The recording of the underground train heard at the beginning and end of ]The Jam
The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...
's 1978 song " Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" was recorded at St John's Wood.
A common trivia question is, "Which London Underground station does not contain any of the letters in the word "mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment.
...
"? The answer is St John's Wood, which does not contain any of the letters A-C-E-K-L-M-R. This is only true because the word "Saint" is always abbreviated "St" in the name, and because Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...
is on the London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...
but not the Underground. Victoria Coren Mitchell described this as her favourite trivia question. Two former stations also fulfill the mackerel test: Wotton and Wood Siding, which were part of the Underground network between 1933 and 1935.
References
External links
London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
**
**
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Wood Tube Station
Jubilee line stations
London Underground Night Tube stations
Tube stations in the City of Westminster
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1939
Tube station