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'Cannon Street' is a National Rail and London Underground station complex in the City of London, the financial district of London in England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League. It is in Travelcard Zone 1.

Contents

National Rail

History

Services

London Underground

History

See also

External links

National Rail

This is a terminal station approached across the River Thames by the Cannon Street Railway Bridge and having entrances from Cannon Street and Dowgate Hill. Its approach by rail is by a triangular connection to both London Bridge and Charing Cross. There were originally eight platforms: a refurbishment in the late 1990s removed the original Platform 1.
Cannon Street is one of seventeen UK railway stations managed by Network Rail.

History

The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 1 September 1866. Designed by Sir John Hawkshaw: it consisted of a 700-ft long building, roofed by a high single arch, almost-semicircular, of glass and iron. The station is carried on a brick viaduct over Upper Thames Street. Below this viaduct there are remains of a number of Roman buildings, which form a scheduled ancient monument.
The five-storey ''City Terminus Hotel'' (designed by E.M.Barry) had two changes of name: to Cannon Street Hotel, and later, as an office block, to Southern House. The original glass roof was removed before World War II as it was to be saved. Unfortunately the factory in which the glass roof was stored was badly bombed, destroying the roof. During rebuilding of the station in the 1960s it was replaced by a building designed by the architect John Poulson. That same rebuilding removed the roof to the station, and all that now remains of the original architecture are the twin 120-ft red-brick towers at the country end and parts of the low flanking walls.
The building is remarked as being one of the most ugly of all station buildings in Britain, turning once a fine building into a hideous monstrosity.
Currently there is planning permission granted to replace the Poulson building, with a new air rights building designed by Foggo Associates.
The track serving Cannon Street has twice been remodelled: on each occasion the station has been shut down:

★ 5-28 June 1926: Southern Railway suburban electrification. Before this, most trains reversed into and out of Cannon street to reach Charing Cross: such working now virtually ended

★ 2 August-9 September 1974: resignalling of the whole approaches to London Bridge.
During the property boom of the 1980s a large office block was built above the platforms whilst the station remained in operation.
Cannon Street was the scene of the Cannon Street rail incident on 8 January 1991 resulting in 2 deaths and over 200 injuries.

Services

The station connects the south side of the City to south and south east London via London Bridge rail station. Some services run directly into Cannon Street from Kent and East Sussex, but only during rush hours. Occasionally during the weekends when track maintenance is in progress, the station serves as an intermediate station between London Bridge and Charing Cross. Either trains reverse at the station or rail passengers change trains here.

London Underground

The London Underground station is a sub-surface station, situated immediately below the mainline station. It is served by the District and Circle lines. Entrances are located on Cannon Street, Dowgate Hill, and on the main-line concourse upstairs at the mainline station, providing an interconnection for commuters. A station here was part of the unrealised phase two expansion of the Fleet Line.
The Underground station is open Mondays to Fridays until 20:58 each day and Saturdays from 07:31 to 19:29. It is closed all day on Sundays.

History

By 1876, the Metropolitan Railway (MR) and Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) had constructed the majority of the Inner Circle (now the Circle Line), reaching Aldgate and Mansion House respectively. The companies were in dispute over the completion of the route as the MDR was struggling financially and the MR was concerned that completion would affect its revenues through increased competition from the MDR in the City area. City financiers keen to see the line completed, established the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway in 1874 to link Mansion House to Aldgate. Forced into action, the MR bought-out the company and it and the MDR began construction of the final section of the Inner Circle in 1879.
On 6 October 1884, the final section of the Inner Circle was opened along with Cannon Street station. Initially the station was served by trains from both companies as part of circular Inner Circle service but various operational patterns have been used during the station's life. The Inner Circle service achieved a separate identity as the Circle Line in 1949 although its trains were still provided by the District or Metropolitan Lines.
The station was reconstructed at the same time as the main line station above.

See also

★ Cannon Street rail incident

★ Cannon Street

External links

★ London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive

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★ Station information on Cannon Street railway station from Network Rail