North End tube station

North End tube station stands unfinished beneath Hampstead Heath in north London. It was planned as part of the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, now the Northern line, between Hampstead and Golders Green. The site sits on the edge of Golders Hill Park, near the famous Bull and Bush pub. At 67 metres below ground it would have been the deepest station on the network, deeper than the nearby Hampstead station. The station’s alternative name comes from the pub, a well-known local landmark. The station was designed to serve a new housing estate north of the heath, but the plan was cancelled in 1904 when Henrietta Barnett bought the land to expand Hampstead Heath instead. Construction began in 1903 but stopped in 1906 when it became clear there would be too few passengers. Only the station tunnels and passageways were dug, along with the approach road that now forms part of Hampstead Way. The unfinished platforms remain below ground, with access from the tracks. During the Second World War the tunnels stored secret archives, reached only from passing trains. In the Cold War a stair shaft was added and the site became a control centre for floodgates across the tube network. The entrance was disguised as an electricity substation to keep its purpose hidden. Today the tunnels serve as emergency exits and their wartime role is publicly recognised. The Grade II listed Hampstead War Memorial now stands where the station building was meant to be.