name = Blake Hall
platforms = 1pp
start = 1865 end = 1981 replace = none tubestation = yes
Blake Hall station is a disused station[1] in Essex, formerly on the Central Line of the London Underground[2] between North Weald and Ongar[3]. It was named after Blake Hall, a country house located a mile or so to the north east of the station in the village of Bobbingworth, and inhabited by a family of substantial local land owners. The station was built as part of the landlord's agreement to build a railway through his land[4] .
The station was first opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 1 April 1865[5], serving principally as a goods station taking agricultural produce from the nearby farms into central London[6]. Steam locomotives operated by British Railways for the Underground ran a shuttle service from Epping to Ongar (stopping at Blake Hall) from 1949 to 1957, when the line was electrified and taken over by the Underground's Central Line[7].
The station subsequently became known as the least used on the entire Underground (not surprisingly: fare subsidies provided on the rest of the underground system were not provided on this part of the line due to the failure of local government agencies for Essex and London to agree their respective public transport responsibilities, and Blake Hall station was located a considerable distance from any substantial settlement). By the time it was closed on 31 October 1981[8], the station was reported to have only six passengers a day[9]. The entire Epping to Ongar branch was closed 13 years later, on 30 September 1994[10]. The station building still exists but has since been converted into a private home. The line passing it is also now private; but the small coal depot at the western end of the station was closed in the early 1960s, soon after the line's electrification, and the passenger platform has now also been demolished.
Also see Epping Ongar Railway for more information on the reopened preserved railway that runs past the old station house[11].
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Blake Hall
- ↑ "The Central Line" Bruce,J.G;Croome,D.F: Harrow, London Capital Transport, 1996 ISBN 1854142976
- ↑ London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Epping to Ongar branch
- ↑ "The Spread of London's Underground" Demuth,T:Harrow, London Capital Transport, 2003 ISBN 1854142666
- ↑ "London Railway Atlas" Brown, J: Hersham, Ian Allan, 2006 ISBN 9780711631371
- ↑ "Rails through the clay" Croome,D.F; Jackson,A.A: Harrow, Capital transport Publishing, 1981 ISBN 1854141511
- ↑ A Short History of the Central Line, by Horne, M.A.C. London Transport, Douglas Rose & Nebulous Books, 1987 ISBN 0853290555
- ↑ Photo collection of Blake Hall station in 1981.
- ↑ "London Underground Stations:a social and architectural study" Menear,L: Tunbridge Wells, Midas, 1983 ISBN 0859361241
- ↑ "The Story of London's Underground" Day,J.R; Reed,J: Harrow, London Capital Transport, 2005 ISBN 1854142895
- ↑ Epping Ongar Railway's Official Website
| Disused railways | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | {{{{{system}}} lines|{{{line}}}}} | Terminus | ||
North Weald towards [[Template:S-line/LUL left/Central tube station|Template:S-line/LUL left/Central]]
|
Central line Epping-Ongar branch |
Ongar towards [[Template:S-line/LUL right/Central tube station|Template:S-line/LUL right/Central]]
|
||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 51°42′41″N 0°12′16″E / 51.71134°N 0.20444°E
de:Blake Hall (London Underground) fa:ایستگاه مترو بلیک هال simple:Blake Hall tube station