Hidden London tours

 



 First posted: 8th March 2017
 In Reviews

This month, I thought I would talk about some of the best heritage tours I have been on in recent years, the Hidden London tours. In February I went on a tour of Down Street Station, my third Hidden London tour over the last year, the first two being at Clapham South Station and 55 Broadway.

Hidden London tours are organised and run by the London Transport Museum in agreement with Transport for London (TFL). On the tours, you are shown around by some of the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers and staff of Hidden London. The tours offer a glimpse at some of the disused stations of the London Underground system, telling you about the history of the original station and other uses it might have had, such as an air raid shelter. When in the stations or building, you can feel yourself become immersed in the history of the site, imagining them as they were in their heyday.
​
As I said, I have visited Down Street Station, this is described as Churchill’s secret bunker, having sheltered down there for a period in WW2; Clapham South Station, which served as a deep level air raid shelter during WW2; and 55 Broadway, the high art deco building created as the head offices of London Transport (now TFL) in the 1920s. But these are just small parts of the histories these sites have to tell.

​I would recommend any of these tours for both history and train enthusiasts, and anybody who is just fascinated by being able to explore places normally off limits. You will learn and experience the history of the sites and have a chance to see the intricacies of how they worked.

If you would like to find out more or want to join one of the Hidden London Tours, I would recommend joining the London Transport Museum newsletter mailing list to find out when new tour dates and tickets are released.

By Annabelle Arnold, Resilience Syndicate Intern

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing: Yanqiu Autumn Dai, Strategic Advisor to the Culture Syndicates Board

Image
  Autumn is a highly qualified and experienced heritage researcher, practitioner, and consultant based in China. Educated at the University of California, she graduated with a BA in Art History and International Relations Global Business (IRGB) before completing her MSc in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford before embarking on a successful career in heritage and the arts around the world. She has worked in Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong as well as the U.K. for art market consultancies and diverse museums and galleries around the world. A particular highlight is her recent. work to help establish the new Grand Canal Museum in Hangzhou. Autumn is very well connected to the international art market and Chinese cultural investors and her expertise lies in applying anthropological research tools and qualitative methodologies to improve marketplace studies in the arts and cultural sectors, and to provide market solutions and strategies for organisation...
Read more

April Reading List

Image
This month we are musing on the theme of wellbeing, taking inspiration from Stress Awareness Month and World Health Day. It is a little shorter this month as we try to catch up with the start of Spring and find new directions. Meditations Marcus Aurelius  "Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which now thou usest for present things." on worry & anxiety This collection of writings from Aurelius, once Emperor of Rome, the book is more accurately titled "To Himself" and is a random collection of short Stoic reflections on things like life, friendship, and enduring hardship. It's quite a small book and is ideal to pick during your commute, lunch break, or bedtime. On Solitude Michel de Montaigne "When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other p...
Read more

Welcome Jane Seaman, Projects and Evaluation Officer

Image
We finally manage to catch up with the recently-joined Jane Seaman as part of our Routes Into Heritage series, who has been busy ensuring we have a fruitful and exciting 2022 ahead of us.  Image credit: Jane, on a visit to St Peter's church Jane joined Culture Syndicates in December 2021 as Projects and Evaluation Officer. She has had a varied career including running her own business producing life-size realistic models and props for museums, Professional Development Manager for the Museums Association and, in more recent years, working on audience development and evaluation. Over the last fifteen years Jane has concentrated on working with clients to deliver their National Lottery Heritage Fund projects through evaluation and detailed analysis, enabling them to monitor project progress and reach a successful outcome.  Jane is now working with the Culture Syndicates team to deliver their current projects and bid for new contracts. We have really enjoyed having her on the team...
Read more