Subterranean London…Mapped!

By · March 14, 2008 at 19:03 pm · 14 Comments · Miscellaneous · Report an error ·


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Cold War bunkers, abandoned Tube stations, buried rivers, deep level shelters…London’s concealed features are among its most intriguing. So, in age-old Londonist tradition, we’ve created a map to try and show what a hollow city this is.

And we need your help.

We’ve plotted the more obvious features – the Fleet River, Zone 1 ghost stations, the Kingsway telephone exchange, etc. But we know there’s a lot more down there. Please use the comments to draw our attention to omissions. A few (flexible) rules…

(1) We only plot places that the general public cannot normally gain access to.

(2) Working Tube and train lines are not shown.

(3) Only spaces big enough to comfortably accommodate a person are included – ruling out some sewers and telecommunication ducts.

(4) A few other places we know about (e.g. River Tyburn) are not yet shown because we couldn’t find accurate guides to their location or route.

We’ll keep the map updated as people send in new information.

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  • jimmewis

    Do you want to include the Honor Oak reservoir, one of the largest underground reservoirs? Supposed to be somewhere around here:

    http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=SE22+0RY&ie=UTF8&ll=51.454756,-0.054717&spn=0.009574,0.028839&z=15

  • jimmewis

    Do you want to include the Honor Oak reservoir, one of the largest underground reservoirs? Supposed to be somewhere around SE22 0RY.

  • onionbagblogger

    More on the Clapham North Deep level Shelter over here:

    http://onionbagblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/going-underground-tuesday-11-march-2008.html

    Feel free to use the pictures for the map :)

  • tikichris

    Have you ever come across any Sleestaks while spelunking London?

  • zarstar

    The River Tyburn along with some of its fish and possibly the smallest bridge in London can be seen in the basement of Gray’s Antique Market (nearest tube: bond street) The Market has two entrances – choose the entrance down the side of the building marked ‘the mews’. The antique market is a little gem in itself.

  • Dave

    I have a copy of ‘War Plan UK’ by Duncan Campbell sitting around at work. This 1982 book supposedly details some (largely unauthorised) exploration that the author undertook, investigating miles of unmapped and uncharted (or not publicly charted) underground tunnels, apparently linking key government and defense sites with various telecommunications centres.

    I’ll see what I can dig out from the book. There used to be a website with a handful of interesting pictures from Duncan’s explorations, but I can’t find it any more…

  • danyey

    From what I recall, the last part of the Tyburn runs along Storey’s Gate/Great Smith Street/Great College Street to the Thames. I think I discovered that on the Parliament website. I’ll try to dig it out…

    You could also include the Westbourne which runs along Westbourne Terrace, through the Serpentine, through Sloane Square (as everyone knows), along Bourne Street to meet the Thames below the Royal Hospital.

    And don’t forget the sewers running along the Embankment.

    Also, is there something beneath the MI6 building?:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIS_Building

  • Nshimbi

    The Honor Oak underground reservoir is in the location shown on the map. It’s under the space bordered by Homstall Road, Cheltenham Road, Kelvington Road and Brenchley Gardens on the map. When completed in 1909 it was the largest underground resevoir in the world and is still the largest in Europe. It holds enough water for 1 million people.

  • joeyinthebush

    There is a bunker here http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.562172,-0.236995&spn=0.002301,0.004629&t=h&z=18&msid=113726868076624067544.00044eede44bdecbc95fa

    It was built by Churchill as an alternative to the Cabinet War Rooms. Codenamed “Paddock” it was the place where Churchill & his ministers would have holed up in if the Nazis won the battle of Britain. Apparently it was never used much due to the damp.

  • showmethesquaremile

    Four floors of ironclad safety deposit vaults beneath what is now the City of London Magistrates Court. Was the UK’s first deposit vault, and doubly secure because the waters of the Walbrook allegedly surround it.

    It’s on the triangular site at the corner of Walbrook, Bucklersbury Passage and Queen Victoria Street.

  • matt daniels

    Knowing Duncan as i do he has probably removed the website as he has been secreting bodys in these ready made tombs. I have suplied the Police with a photo of him But dont own a copy of the book myself. So if you could be a good chap and pop it into your nearest Constabulary im sure they would be very gratefull. I would suspect that the old bastard is camping out down one of these tunnels and a hefty reward will be available on his capture.Good luck and stop wanking.

  • matt daniels

    Knowing Duncan as i do he has probably removed the website as he has been secreting bodys in these ready made tombs. I have suplied the Police with a photo of him But dont own a copy of the book myself. So if you could be a good chap and pop it into your nearest Constabulary im sure they would be very gratefull. I would suspect that the old bastard is camping out down one of these tunnels and a hefty reward will be available on his capture.Good luck and stop wanking.

  • Fergus

    the Paddock Bunkers were abandoned due to the damp but also because the bright sparks who created them forgot to install plumbing/sewerage so there were no toilets in the facility! Churchill also resided in the building at the top of Park Side, on Dollis Hill Lane.

  • angus

    There is  a grid of concrete plugs on Ealing Common, each about 2 feet square. I think I heard somewhere that there is an air raid shelter underneath, but I’ve tried to Google for information and drawn a blank. The concrete caps were put on about 2 years ago after someone somehow fell through the old metal covering – I walked past as the ambulance and police were trying to extract him. Would love to know more.

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