1996 babies, move aside. Because there’s a London resident who’ll see your 30th birthday next year, and raise you… a 100th birthday. 2026 marks a hundred years since the Northern Line’s Morden extension landed in the capital city. And the very first station to earn itself a space on the line was Clapham South; a historic Tube station that happens to have the deepest air-raid shelter in London hidden beneath it.
Clapham South station
Clapham South was designed by Charles Holden, and opened its doors on September 13, 1926 as the first station on the Morden extension of what was once the City and South London Railway (now the Northern Line). It wasn’t always going to be named Clapham South. Other names that were thrown about included ‘Balham North’ and ‘Nightingale Lane’. But they settled on yet another Clapham-named station. Because if you can’t beat them, join them, hey?
In the 1940s, a secret subterranean set of tunnels were built beneath Clapham South station to serve as a shelter for over 8000 people during World War II. This underground labyrinth was created as one of London’s eight deep-level air-raid shelters, and it’s thought to be the deepest of them all. The shelter had a canteen, medical stations, and bunk beds inside, and became a safe haven for local residents at the time.
Hidden London’s Clapham South tour
Nosey Londoners can actually head on down into the deep-level shelter at Clapham South. The London Transport Museum holds guided ‘Hidden London‘ tours there, where visitors can step inside the top-secret site, learn more about its fascinating history, get up close and personal with actual wartime artefacts, and learn how the space served as a shelter.
The shelter beneath Clapham South spans a mile, and is divided up into 16 sub-shelters. There are just eight of the deep-level air-raid shelters in London, the others being Chancery Lane, Belsize Park, Camden Town, Goodge Street, Stockwell, Clapham North, and Clapham Common.
You can find out more about the London Transport Museum’s Clapham South tour here.