It's not often that you get to wander freely around somewhere like this. It has an immense history and some fascinating gems left behind. I chanced upon surprisingly easy access one afternoon and got back down there with Elliot5200 that evening. In the following days I returned with several others and boy did we make the most of it! Many of the original shelter signs are still in place throughout the tunnels, some are still mounted on the walls while others are lying on the floor. The original bunk beds used during the blitz are still in-situ as well as two intact mercury arc rectifiers which are now extremely rare, most (if not all) of them have been removed from the other shelters so I am told. It would make a wicked party venue down here!
Clapham South deep level shelter was one of 8 shelters constructed in response to the 1940 bombings. Each shelter comprised of two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and were situated below existing London Underground station tunnels. Each tube had two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation could accommodate 9,600 people.
All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each section was given a name, at Clapham South they were named ofter naval commanders as can be seen on the signage. The shelter was completed in 1942 and used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. The shelters were only used for their original purpose for less than a year. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel.
At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage so the Colonial Office recruited immigrants from Britain’s colonies. The ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South. The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. The new arrivals didn't stay for long as they all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London. The deep-level shelter at Clapham South is therefore celebrated not only for its role in protecting Londoners from the worst excesses of the Blitz but also its fascinating and positive contribution towards helping make London one of the most culturally, socially and economically diverse places in the United Kingdom.
A campaign in the early 1960s to find new uses for the deep shelters achieved little. Nothing happened in fact until the government finally changed its policy on deep shelters in 1975. This saw the government endeavouring to recoup some of its investment by leasing all the shelters (except Kingsway, which was then still actively in use as a telephone exchange) to commercial tenants. A permanent tenancy came in 1977 when the data storage company Security Archives Ltd (founded in 1976 and renamed Recall Total Information Management in 1999), took possession of the deep shelter at Belsize Park, later leasing also Camden Town and Goodge Street (in 1986). In the mid-1980s Security Archives also took on the two shelters at Clapham South and Stockwell.
In the mid 2000s London Transport decided to sell the south Grade II listed circular entrance building at Clapham South which had once housed the administrative offices and ticket printing works. Recall Total Information Management, who still occupied the shelter were given an option to buy the land but turned it down so their lease was not renewed. The land was put on the open market but remained unsold for a number of years until it was finally sold in 2010. Planning permission was granted on 25 January 2011 for the construction of an eight storey building which now straddles the listed entrance building, providing a total of 62 residential units. The planning permission allowed for the demolition of the other surface buildings.
In 2011 the north entrance building, on the corner of the common opposite Clapham South station was stripped back to bare concrete as part of an ongoing scheme by Lambeth Council to manage and improve the common.
1. North entrance on the common back in the day
History taken from Sub-Brit http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/c/clapham_south/index.html
History taken from Sub-Brit http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/c/clapham_south/index.html
Clapham South deep level shelter was one of 8 shelters constructed in response to the 1940 bombings. Each shelter comprised of two parallel tubes 16 foot 6 inches internal diameter and 1,600 feet long and were situated below existing London Underground station tunnels. Each tube had two decks, fully equipped with bunks, medical posts, kitchens and sanitation and each installation could accommodate 9,600 people.
All the deep level shelters were sub-divided into sleeping areas. Each section was given a name, at Clapham South they were named ofter naval commanders as can be seen on the signage. The shelter was completed in 1942 and used as weekend troop accommodation from 1943. The start of the attacks on London by V1 flying bombs (commonly known as ‘doodlebugs’) in June 1944, followed by the V2 rocket campaign in September that year, caused many of the deep shelters to be made fully available to the public; Clapham South opened on 19 July 1944. The south entrance, next door to what was the Odeon cinema, was in a small compound that housed administrative offices and ticket printing presses for all eight deep shelters. There were 7.952 bunks in total and each bunk was allocated to a named person. The shelters were only used for their original purpose for less than a year. Clapham South closed completely on 7 May 1945 and from June 1945 it found a new use as a military leave hostel.
2.
At the end of the war, London had a severe labour shortage so the Colonial Office recruited immigrants from Britain’s colonies. The ship MV Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury later in 1948 carrying 492 worker migrants from Jamaica. However, as there was no accommodation for the new arrivals the Colonial Office decided to house them in the deep-level shelter at Clapham South. The nearest labour exchange to Clapham South was on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton so the men sought jobs there. The new arrivals didn't stay for long as they all quickly found jobs and accommodation, and successfully integrated into many parts of south London. The deep-level shelter at Clapham South is therefore celebrated not only for its role in protecting Londoners from the worst excesses of the Blitz but also its fascinating and positive contribution towards helping make London one of the most culturally, socially and economically diverse places in the United Kingdom.
3. Immigrants in 1948
A campaign in the early 1960s to find new uses for the deep shelters achieved little. Nothing happened in fact until the government finally changed its policy on deep shelters in 1975. This saw the government endeavouring to recoup some of its investment by leasing all the shelters (except Kingsway, which was then still actively in use as a telephone exchange) to commercial tenants. A permanent tenancy came in 1977 when the data storage company Security Archives Ltd (founded in 1976 and renamed Recall Total Information Management in 1999), took possession of the deep shelter at Belsize Park, later leasing also Camden Town and Goodge Street (in 1986). In the mid-1980s Security Archives also took on the two shelters at Clapham South and Stockwell.
4. Map of layout
In the mid 2000s London Transport decided to sell the south Grade II listed circular entrance building at Clapham South which had once housed the administrative offices and ticket printing works. Recall Total Information Management, who still occupied the shelter were given an option to buy the land but turned it down so their lease was not renewed. The land was put on the open market but remained unsold for a number of years until it was finally sold in 2010. Planning permission was granted on 25 January 2011 for the construction of an eight storey building which now straddles the listed entrance building, providing a total of 62 residential units. The planning permission allowed for the demolition of the other surface buildings.
In 2011 the north entrance building, on the corner of the common opposite Clapham South station was stripped back to bare concrete as part of an ongoing scheme by Lambeth Council to manage and improve the common.
Anyway some amazing history with this place, I tried to condense it as much as possible but it's quite fascinating really. Onto my pics, there are quite a few but there was a lot to photograph. Most are self-explanatory I think and in no particular order. Thanks to everyone who came down, good times indeed.
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8. Modern shelving used for storage on the left alongside original bunk beds on the right
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12. Original bunk beds
13. Evidence of the secure storage facility that was once down here
14.
15. These steps take you up to what used to be an entrance from the tube station which has now been bricked off
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22. Plant Room
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24. Vents
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27. Rectifier switch
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29. Back-lit Mercury arc rectifier, they were used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC).
30. What it really looks like in the flesh, an amazing sight.
Thanks for looking
5.
6.
7.
8. Modern shelving used for storage on the left alongside original bunk beds on the right
9.
10.
11.
12. Original bunk beds
13. Evidence of the secure storage facility that was once down here
14.
15. These steps take you up to what used to be an entrance from the tube station which has now been bricked off
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. Plant Room
23.
24. Vents
25.
26.
27. Rectifier switch
28.
29. Back-lit Mercury arc rectifier, they were used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC).
30. What it really looks like in the flesh, an amazing sight.
Thanks for looking
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Made me laugh
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