Chalk Farm | Hidden London Hangouts (S08E05)

In this episode, Chris and Alex explore behind the scenes of an unusual Northern line station to discover some rare surviving original features. Meanwhile, Siddy and Laura enjoy a wealth of classic posters promoting travel to Chalk Farm from the Museum collection.

[@ianfitzgibbon3150]

Station was also used on the 1980 album sleeve by Madness called Absolutely

[@Muswell]

"You've got more front than Chalk Farm" is now established in my vocabulary !

[@andrewleach1054]

Holes in the doors - naughty Alex!! 😂😂

[@Clavichordist]

I really enjoy your series and look forward to seeing them when you post them. In 1985 my nan and I took a trip from across the pond to visit London. We had other reasons to visit such as to look up information on her grandmother who came from Liverpool, but for the most part we stayed in London and used the underground regularly. Being a railroad/railway fan, I used the opportunity to visit the London Transport Museum and enjoyed my visit. During our London visit, we took the Northern Line to Chalk Farm to visit the zoo. This show brought back memories for me. At the time, I didn't know the historic significance of this station or any other for that matter and your Hidden London Hangouts series has allowed me to appreciate the uniqueness that each station has.

[@gazritchie6077]

Another brilliant episode guys! Keep up the great work. The weekend is not the same if we don't have the Hangouts. ❤

[@user-tg9pp3mn5w]

I agree how lovely the staff are here. They often work across this one, Mornington Crescent, Belsize Park and my fave Hampstead ❤❤❤❤

[@my__socrates__note]

Yeah yeah, station... but Laura has a district moquette stocking!! i need this in my life!

[@No_19119]

nice

[@ForTheBirbs]

Oh strewth, a dingo's got my baby. Alex Alex Alex. Lol. What makes these episodes so great is seeingn a hundred or so years later, the sheer excitement and enthusiasm of the builders and designers of the new Sydney Metro rail system. A new tunnel under Sydney harbour and integration into our underground and overground stations. There's been some open days in the new stations in the approach to opening mid 2024. Cheers

[@tardismole]

Love it. This is the best "explore" railway series out there, because it goes where many can't go. Either because London is too far away, or because access is denied to all but a few, or due to disabilities. You are our eyes and legs. Huge thank you.

[@user-tg9pp3mn5w]

Another great episode love this station and even more so after this episode ❤

[@pauloconnor2980]

I LOVE the room the guys are sitting in @ 7:15->. That would make a great cafe, of course the windows would require a bit of a clean!!

[@ashleyscottthomas6633]

Thanks for showing such a interesting film of my local tube station ❤

[@SaturnCanuck]

Another great station. Sorry gang I saw this late! Love to see al the hidden stuff. It is amazing how many triangular buildings there are -- Toronto has one, we call it the Gooderham Building. Can't wait for the next episode.

[@stpdhstpdh5740]

Poster no. 1999/32804 (seen at 37.00) was part of a series of posters made during 1935 and the artist is famous. It was Laurence Bradshaw who did these for London Underground and Green Line. The biggest of all his works was the Marx Memorial in Highgate.

[@steffenfrkjr1424]

The wood bram, on the one side of the lift' may be to "catch" the door with out cracking the tiles..

[@EstateOfMaryFarmer]

Looks to me like there was snow and slush on the road outside the Hampstead Tube shots

[@jacksugden8190]

The station appeared Euston Films/Thames Television’s Minder series one, around the corner was the fake The Winchester Club in Adelaide Road on the Chalk Farm Parade. Th Winchester Club was a real club at the time of filming, called 'The Eton Club'. according to Wikipedia, the original club was almost unrecognisable these days. In some episodes, we can the late Denis Warrman aka Terry McCann walking away from the station.

[@helenhickman8449]

Thank you for this episode. I love a Leslie Green station and the tiles.

[@djtraxxehv1058]

I have been there in 2009, what a shame that I didn't look so well at that lovely Chalk Farm Tube station. Thank you for this exellent video.

[@trumptontally3383]

I lived opposite the roundhouse for years and used this station daily. To see that the tiles were originally made in the potteries, my home town, was a nice surprise. Woolliscroft operated until 2000, and the name is still carried on by the Co. who took them over in a range of floor tiles.

[@andykopgod]

Cant beat an Ornate Nob 😄💪

[@isashax]

Oh yay! This is so well timed! Last week I went to Chalk Farm for the first time and was staying close to Belsize Park. I took lots of pics of those pomegranate tiles! Really amazing exterior on this station, love all these Northern Line stations and I haven't seen too many of them. It is always fab going back to London and see more things in the stations than ever! And by the way, I did buy a pair of Elizabeth line socks on the LTM shop yesterday! I am turning into the Valencia Tube nerd ;)

[@stigroo9058]

You’re on my tiny screen this week as I hammer metal for earrings 😂

[@davidbassett4577]

Great Episode … I’ve been through Chalk Farm Underground Station on the tube & past it on the bus, but never actually been to the station … having just watched this episode I think I have to come and have a look! Living in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (that up until 1961 was part of the Met Line) I am not too far away …

[@MartinBrenner]

Beautiful building. That peculiar window on the tip of the wedge reminded me of an old sail ship stern, which even had lanterns over the windows.

[@peterpetrou2466]

Oh take me back to the Eighties when I worked for LUL - promise to be good this time 😇

[@NapierNimbus]

Great video, always interesting and informative. Love the real enthusiasm of the presenters.

[@JaapFilius]

What a wonderful episode again. Thank you all.

[@bertspeggly4428]

I lived on Haverstock Hill, but Belsize Park station was much nearer, so I hardly ever used this station. I didn't realise how pretty it is. We used to go to the Zoo at night. I believe the entrance fee was much less than daytime.

[@andycole6147]

Chalk Farm Station is on the the second madness album

[@ulazygit]

Cracking episode - really enjoyed this one. If you guys are going further up the Northern, how about Edgware (where I was born - the General Hospital, not the station) and it would be awesome to visit Brockley Hill (pretty sure the tunnels to Elstree South are now blocked up and gone) and cover off what has happened to these two stations since being built (or not quite finished …)

[@Shalott63]

Thanks! After seeing the episode on Piccadilly Circus where it showed the three Leslie Green facades, I've been wondering whether that was the station with the most archway windows, and now I see that by a strange quirk of fate Chalk Farm has more, even though it was always a much less busy station.

[@haroldbisonette]

The nice hanging lantern at 32:10 would have been from the old Adelaide pub that, er, suspiciously burnt down (twice) in more recent times.

[@MrPeach71]

The Panda poster made me think of the last lines of "Over the points" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. I'd just listened to the "Laughter" album before watching it.

[@DerekSizeland]

Seeing the Express Dairy shop. It would have been supplied with milk from College farm in Finchley.

[@carlwilson1772]

Another fantastic episode, loved it.

[@paulgiffen6836]

Fantastic station, thank you all for another great show ❤❤

[@risingchads]

Always fun to see what's inside all those cupboards. Time to interview those who did the retiling, or at least did the good ones like here! Who made all these new tiles? That said, Douglas Roses' 'Tiles of the unexpected' is a bit sniffy about the 2005 retile. Given the thorough documentation of anything railway there must be loads of detail about all what happened in the PPP era.

[@Catsarefab]

Beautiful building, loving the arch windows ❤

[@simondawson4270]

Surprised you never showed the back entrance and what was left in olace. Also where you had your,coffee was the home of the p way before it moved to Edgware. Station nearly got called Adelaide Road. Oh yes yhat was my place of work for 15 +years so new every inch of the statuon inc the location of the makers tile.

[@haroldbisonette]

yes, the old double entrances. Open until at least the 70s/80s. I think they might have got fed up with people (like me) using the entrance hall as a handy cut through.

[@simondawson4270]

@@haroldbisonette I also believe people used to shelter there when ot rained just like they did at Camden

[@Tobenhouse]

Some original flooring still in place although slightly faded

[@Nortski101]

My grandparents lived in constable house on Adelaide road and moved out in 1982. I honestly thought I dreamt that there was a back entrance and a bus stop there so thanks for confirming that there was !! I couldn’t ever find any pictures to confirm this

[@martynthomas7486]

Great, a look around one of the most impressive Leslie Green frontaged stations around, looking forward to it. For Season 9 (and we all earnestly hope there will be another season!) could you have a look at the Central line section of the Hainault loop between Leytonstone and Newbury Park where the tunnels were used by Plessey electronics as a munitions factory during the war. You can still see where the tunnel walls were painted white. Cheers all, Martyn.

[@scottyb2688]

Also a update video on knights bridge with all the new tiles an reopened original passages that would be kool

[@alexgrundon2346]

Since you asked soooo nicely, let’s do it x

[@martynthomas7486]

@alexgrundon2346, yes, a re-visit to Knightsbridge would be nice. Does your reply mean you're considering both mine and ScottyB's suggestions?

[@alexgrundon2346]

YAAAASSS!

[@stigroo9058]

Ohh chalk farm was a sorta usual user back in the day!😂

[@JeanHawkins-j8k]

Upstairs offices were home to the Permanent Way emergency gang for many years, with their vans parked outside.

[@stephensaines7100]

@34:47...the tiles to the left of the pic show a darker colour and/or intensity on lower two rows plus other random instances...such that if viewed in recent times, would perhaps mislead one to believe some had been replaced with newer ones that didn't quite match the originals. I wonder if the inverse is true? Some examples of 'obviously due to inaccurate matching it's apparent some tiles have been replaced' may not in fact be the case? Albeit, the more I stare at that fascinating pic, it becomes obvious that some alterations have been made to that wall as witnessed by the plaster above the tiles, and the discontinuity of the wood trim on the wall. Closer inspection still reveals the paint/plaster all around blackened and pocked/peeling as if a light explosion or tarry small fire had occurred. "Conditions as to the issue of tickets" on board at right further adds to the mystery.

[@london52uk]

at 14:04 the tiles were used at Old Street in 60s subway entrance

[@DavidShepheard]

Great video. It was a shame you couldn't go through that door into the former ladies toilets. I'd love to know if they were still there, with the original fixtures and fittings. I do have a question about the spiral staircase. There were large white boards above the tiles on the stairs and you shot past them all. Were they an original feature or were they covering something up? There were also some sort of boards above and around the decorative tiles at the bottom of the staircase. I don't think that could be original. Or could it be?

[@RogerLaFrance]

I would be guessing that the blocks of wood or on the outside walls because as people walk around there would be advertisements on it that they would see better than if they were on the inside walls.

[@Lilyobrien.x]

Come across your channel whilst researching the transport museum. Absolutely obsessed with the channel now. Do you have tours for wheelchair users or those who can walk small distances at a time? I would love to do a tour. Could you do some videos on the lifts and introduction to the step free era? Visited the museum on Saturday I love it. Also why do some stations have lifts but not step free, also I love ghosts on underground

[@probewizard]

When Nixey says "I'm not really seeing anything" there is a tile lower right that looks like it has writing on.

[@uberseehandel]

4:46 - the station sign says UNDERCROUND (at first sight) 🤣🤣🤣

[@alexgrundon2346]

It’s just the weird G….

[@richardsingh5827]

Good work

[@evshughes4465]

Lovely Lesley green

[@borgdylan]

is the poster gallery still on next march? saw one about the windrush times last time i came.

[@stigroo9058]

Ooh posters💙🎉

[@sbowness]

It was poignant looking at those Zoo After Hours posters. Their last date was 31 August 1939. Days later and the country was at war.

[@stigroo9058]

Lift room seems Mondrian to me😂

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

53 steps. That's the (actual) equivalent of a 3 storey building, measuring 9.18 metres (and usually counting up to 54 steps à 17 centimetres).

[@tobiaswoodcock]

oddthought butwas the booden beam there for incase of fire? if the tunnel filled with smoke you could feel your way out using the wooden bar???

[@geoffreymartin2764]

G'day guys, love that building. Hope it is listed. Where did the name come from? As a retiree I have lots of time to watch youtube. HLH has become my favourite. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Geoff, Potts Point, Sydney. 🏳‍🌈

[@suecj8770]

Can not wait

[@madhatter61]

Should have gone into more detail on the express dairy company cafe . Its rare to see them.

[@raphaelnikolaus0486]

36:52 What's interesting about this poster (no. 1999/32804) is that it speaks of the Hampstead tube, today Northern line, as "Morden-Edgware line", which of course is one of the known names - or at least name ideas - for that line. If we wanted to make a portmanteau from that, I would go for "Morware" (like 'more ware' maybe). Note: it should not be "Mordware", as this would be the German for 'murder ware'. (However, "Morden" already mirrors the German for 'to murder'.)

[@NicholasNA]

Also the reference in one of the other posters to “Lords” - a disused station on the Met.

[@stigroo9058]

Ooh saw Ian dury and blockheads at roundhouse

[@stigroo9058]

Frothy coffee at the ready! (Without Roundel;)

[@london52uk]

what is that post across the road nearest to the camera in the first picture?

[@Epalvosh]

It's a Fire Alarm Call Post. Inside the circle at the top was a small pane of glass, behind which was a handle. Pulling this handle would alert the fire brigade. These posts were phased out following the introduction of the 999 system.

[@Roblilley999]

53 steps - 15 storey building

[@stigroo9058]

Shape Reminds me it wants to b that Art nouveau pub near south bank? (You all probably know

[@myheartonmysleeve]

The disused primrose hill nor far from here axed because of chalk farm popularity

[@stigroo9058]

Tile for laura

[@SuperloopSL9-u4e]

Please can you do Ruislip Manor as next weeks video

[@doublea06]

👍🏾👍🏾

[@evshughes4465]

Will be nice

[@howardkey1639]

Kung Fu Panda poster

[@paulchandler5004]

I shall use your saying "More front that Chalk Farm". It used to be be 'More front that Woolworths' but they are of course sadly no more and is completely meaningless to many of the younger generation

[@geoffreymartin2764]

What shape were the lifts? Do you have a photo of an actual lift car? 🏳‍🌈

[@stigroo9058]

Where is everyone? Anybodyyyy