Balham tube station

Balham station stands in the London Borough of Wandsworth, where Balham High Road crosses the Brighton Main Line. It is an interchange with two parts: the Northern line of the London Underground on one side of the road and a National Rail station on the other. The National Rail station sits four and a half miles from Victoria on the Brighton Main Line, with four tracks and four platforms arranged on an embankment. The Underground station opened in 1926 as part of the Morden extension, designed by Charles Holden in modernist style. The two stations share no ticket machines or gatelines, though they are joined by a pedestrian subway beneath the tracks. The station is worth the journey for its layered history and the art it carries. The National Rail part began in 1856 as Balham Hill and was rebuilt several times to widen the line and increase capacity. The Underground station was one of Holden’s first major projects for the Underground, commissioned by Frank Pick. During the Second World War the station served as an air-raid shelter; a bomb on 14 October 1940 killed sixty-six people and flooded the tunnels. A memorial stone now marks the spot in the ticket hall. Visitors find two distinct station buildings, each with its own entrance on opposite sides of Balham High Road. The Underground entrances are clad in white Portland stone with large roundel motifs set into the façades. On the National Rail side, four bronze reliefs titled “Impressions of Balham” show local scenes and residents, installed in 1991. The platforms lie on an embankment between brick bridges, and the underpass links all sides. Above ground, Balham’s streets lead to shops and bus routes that connect the area.