Blake Hall tube station

Blake Hall is a disused former station on the London Underground in the civil parish of Stanford Rivers, and south from the village of Bobbingworth in Essex, approximately 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Charing Cross.[1][2] It was latterly on the Central line, between North Weald and Ongar, but was originally served by the Epping to Ongar shuttle service branch line.[3]

Blake Hall
Blake Hall
Location of Blake Hall in Essex
LocationGreensted
Local authorityEpping Forest
OwnerGreat Eastern Railway
Number of platforms1
Key dates
24 April 1865 (1865-04-24)Opened
2 November 1981 (1981-11-02)Closed
Replaced byNone
Other information
WGS8451.7113°N 0.2044°E / 51.7113; 0.2044
London transport portal

It was opened in 1865 and named after Blake Hall, a country house located a mile or so to the northeast and inhabited by a family of substantial local land-owners. The station was closed in 1981.

History
Blake Hall station, 1923
View westward, towards Epping in 1961

Blake Hall station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway on 1 April 1865,[4] serving principally as a goods yard carrying agricultural produce from the nearby farms into London.[5] Steam locomotives operated by British Railways for the Underground ran a shuttle service from Epping to Ongar, stopping at Blake Hall, from 1949 until 1957, when the line was electrified and taken over by the Underground's Central line.[6] On 18 April 1966 the goods yard was closed and Blake Hall became a dedicated passenger station. On 17 October 1966, Sunday services were withdrawn.[7]

Blake Hall became reputed as the least-used station on the entire Underground network. Fare subsidies provided on the rest of the system were not provided on this part of the line because local government agencies for Essex and London failed to agree on their respective public transport responsibilities, and Blake Hall station was located a considerable distance from any substantial settlement. By the time services were permanently discontinued on 31 October 1981,[8] the station was reported to have only 17 passengers per day. The station was permanently closed down on 2 November 1981.[9] The Epping to Ongar branch line was closed 13 years later, on 30 September 1994.[10]

Blake Hall's station building has since been converted into a private home. 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 was demolished.

The line passing the station site is now privately owned and operated as a heritage railway by the Epping Ongar Railway, and although the platform was reinstated in May 2012 this is for aesthetic purposes only, and the station remains closed.[11]

See also

References
Notes
  1. "London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Blake Hall". Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  2. Bruce & Croome 2006, pp. 61,72
  3. "London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Epping to Ongar branch". Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  4. Brown 2006, p. 6
  5. Croome & Jackson 1981, p. ?
  6. Horne 1987, p. ?
  7. Hardy 2011, pp. 175–183
  8. "Photo collection of Blake Hall station in 1981". Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  9. Menear 1983, p. ?
  10. Day & Reed 2005, p. 202
  11. Skinner, Paul (2011). "Epping Ongar Railway". Retrieved 22 May 2011.
Bibliography
  • Brown, Joe (November 2006). London Railway Atlas. Hersham, UK: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7110-3137-1. 0611/3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bruce, J. Graeme; Croome, Desmond F. (2006) [1996]. The Central Line (2nd ed.). Harrow, London: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-297-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Croome, Desmond F.; Jackson, A.A. (1981). Rails through the Clay. Harrow, UK: Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1-85414-151-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Day, John R.; Reed, John (2005) [1963]. The Story of London's Underground (9th ed.). Harrow, London: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-289-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News. London Underground Railway Society (591). ISSN 0306-8617.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Horne, M.A.C. (1987). A Short History of the Central Line. London Transport/Douglas Rose & Nebulous Books. ISBN 0-85329-055-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Menear, L. (1983). London Underground Stations: a social and architectural study. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Midas. ISBN 0-85936-124-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
North Weald
Line and station open		   Great Eastern Railway
Loughton-Ongar		   Ongar
Line and station open
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
towards Epping
Central line
Epping-Ongar branch
Terminus
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