Hampstead station: London Underground's deepest point

Hampstead station holds the distinction of being the deepest on the London Underground network. Its platforms are situated 58.5 metres below ground level. The station also features the longest staircase on the entire network, with 320 steps leading to street level.

A Deep Descent

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The considerable depth of Hampstead station is a consequence of its geographical position on one of London's highest hills. The tunnels had to pass beneath this elevation, necessitating the installation of lifts to transport passengers to the platforms. The lift shafts themselves reach a depth of 55 metres. The station serves the Edgware branch of the Northern line, connecting Golders Green and Belsize Park.

Opened on June 22, 1907, by the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, Hampstead station was designed by architect Leslie Green. He was responsible for the design of 50 stations across the Tube network between 1903 and 1907, many of which are recognised for their distinctive glazed oxblood terracotta tiles and semi-circular first-floor windows.

While the spiral staircase is available, it is primarily for emergency use. Signs advise passengers against using it due to the exertion involved, comparing the climb to ascending a 15-storey building. The station's original platform signage indicated its proposed name, Heath Street, before it was changed to Hampstead.

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Unrealised Expansion

Plans for the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead route, first conceived in 1893, were delayed for a decade. American financier Charles Tyson Yerkes took over the project in 1900, transforming it into an electric underground railway. The line was originally intended to extend further north to a station named North End, located beneath Hampstead Heath. However, the land acquired for this development was ultimately incorporated into the Hampstead Heath extension, and the North End station, sometimes referred to as Bull and Bush, never opened to the public.