| North End | |
|---|---|
.JPG) London Underground's current building on the site of the never-completed station, providing access to the staircases and platform level | |
  North End Location of North End in Greater London | |
| Location | North End |
| Local authority | Barnet |
| Owner | Never opened |
| Number of platforms | 2 (unfinished) |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway |
| Other information | |
| Coordinates | 51°34′08″N0°10′56″W / 51.56899°N 0.18232°W /51.56899; -0.18232 |
 London transport portal | |
North End (commonly referred to asBull and Bush)[1] is a never-completed underground station, on theCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR, now part of theLondon Underground'sNorthern line). The station was to have been built atNorth End on the boundaries ofHampstead Heath andGolders Hill Park and is located on the Edgware branch betweenHampstead andGolders Green.
Due to its location near the top of a hill, the station would have been, at 221 feet (67 m), the deepest below ground on the entire Underground network. The current deepest is the adjacentHampstead station to the southeast.
The station's alternative name derives from its proximity to the nearby famousBull and Bush public house, a well-known landmark in the area.
The originalroyal assent for the construction of the CCE&HR was granted under theCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. ccxiv)[2] but gave permission for a railway only as far north as Hampstead. Financing difficulties meant that no work had begun by the beginning of the 20th century and the company was bought out in 1900 by a syndicate led by American financierCharles Yerkes. Following the purchase, plans were revised to continue the route under the Heath to Golders Green where a depot could be constructed and where open farmland offered opportunities for property development.
The new proposals met with strong opposition from residents of Hampstead and users of the heath who feared that the construction of tunnels would detrimentally affect the Heath's ecology.[3] TheMetropolitan Borough of Hampstead also initially objected but relented and parliamentary approval was granted for the extended route in theCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway Act 1903 (3 Edw. 7. c. ci).[4]
One of the conditions for construction of the extended route was the provision of an intermediate station at North End, which would have been located onHampstead Way. The station would have served a new residential development being planned to the north of the heath, butHenrietta Barnett instigated the purchase of the land fromEton College in 1904 to form theHampstead Heath Extension instead.[5]
Tunnelling for the CCE&HR had begun in 1903 and the construction of the station continued to the extent that the larger diameter station tunnels and low-level passageways were excavated. However, it became apparent that the cancellation of the proposed residential development would significantly reduce the number of passengers using the station.
Works on the station were ended in 1906 before the lift shafts were dug and before any work on a surface building was done.[5]
The approach road to the station was built and now forms the first part of Hampstead Way. Services began on the CCE&HR on 22 June 1907, running through the abandoned station. The uncompleted platforms and lower passageways remain, with access to the tracks. DuringWorld War II these were used to store secret archives, with access only available from the cabs of passing service trains.[5][6]
During theCold War a shaft with stairs, but no elevator, was dug down to the lower passageways and the abandoned station became part of the London Underground's civil defence preparations.[7] As the tunnels were the deepest in the network it was an ideal site. The role of this control centre was to manage the emergencyfloodgates placed throughout the tube network at the start ofWorld War II, and previously controlled from central London.[5][7] Its existence was kept secret and the newly-constructed entrance building at the top of the shaft was disguised as anelectricity substation through the use of appropriate signage.[7]
The exits from the platform tunnels are now marked as emergency evacuation routes from the Underground system, and its function is now publicly acknowledged.[7]
| Abandoned works | ||||
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| Preceding station |  London Underground | Following station | ||
| Golders Green Terminus | Northern line | Hampstead towardsCharing Cross | ||
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