Tri-Service
Underground WW2 Bunkers In Clapham Open For Tours
A long-abandoned Tube station bomb shelter occupied by Londoners during the Second World War has been brought back to life.
TFL is now offering pre-booked tours of the Grade-II bunker and will transform the historic rotunda at the surface into a new café and gallery space.
Forces TV's Dan Freedman went to visit before the shelters were made open to the public...
180 steps below ground and under the Northern line tunnels, lie eight deep-level air-raid shelters that were built between 1940 and 1942.
The vast tunnels are one of seven deep level networks constructed along London's Northern line.
An artist’s impression of how the development could look like, and how it looks now.
It was not until 1944, when the bombing of London intensified with the use of V-1 and V-2 bombs, that the shelter was used for its intended purpose of housing up to 8,000 Londoners during air-raids.
Shelters housed up to 8,000 Londoners during the Blitz in 1944, when the bombing of London intensified.
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It closed after less than a year in May 1945, and was then subsequently used as a military and civilian hostel.
Graeme Craig, TfL’s director of commercial development, said: ‘Clapham South's deep-level shelters have played an important role in shaping the London that we know today.
"The planning approval that we have received from Lambeth Council means that this structure can once again be brought back to life.
"Linking the new restaurant or café above ground with the historic shelters below ground showcases how we are opening up our assets to Londoners and delivering value for fare payers."
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