Abandoned Platform at Mansion House / Only Unconnect Ep.10

I'm visiting another unconnected station on the Tube Map, this time ... it's Mansion House in Zone 1 on the Circle Line, right in the City of London.
In 'Only Unconnect', I'm visiting some of my favourite stations on the Tube Map, this time with the theme of them not being connected to any other lines, and appear with just a station 'tick' on the map without a connector blob. They're unconnected, hence ... Only Unconnect!

[@barrywood2806]

Easily my favourite Unconnected episode. How can you not love a station that has an entrance that hides its identity, a station named after a location it isn't at, a lift that doesn't. British eccentricity at its best. Wonderful.

[@ajs41]

Has this entrance always hidden its identity, so to speak, or is it a fairly new thing?

[@MsBNoodle]

Same

[@craigdearman]

I think the fella in the race the tube video got off where he did so the people filming didn't have to move carriage for when he re-boarded - essentially so they were in the right place.

[@Trainlevel2]

Yea, I agree. Was looking for this comment and was not disappointed

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

@@Trainlevel2 two people with a camera?

[@ringzer]

Weren't the trains walk through back then?

[@craigdearman]

They probably were but I guess it also looked better on camera for the person filming on the train not to move carriages.

[@danmessenger9113]

Yeah I'd assumed part of the challenge was to get off and on using the same set of doors.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Hoorah! We've got the Geoff of old back! Informative as ever, a relaxed, light touch delivery, with the odd drop of humour too. Great stuff, thanks.

[@phronsiekeys]

When I lived in London for a year in 1981, one of my "speedy" games (I couldn't run fast either) was to see if I could get the 10p coin (yep, they were 10p) out of my purse to buy a Fruit and Nut bar before the train came. So it makes me happy to see you eating a Cadbury, even if it costs 12x more. This was a fun video. I have been back many times since then, but I get nostalgic when I see these odd ones I didn't visit often.

[@kbtred51]

In the day those venders always seemed expensive. Cadbury had to bid more to oust Nestle.

[@ajs41]

I love the idea of speedy games.

[@Renasense]

I'm 30 seconds from that secret entrance to work! My Son was very happy to see Daddy's work on a Geoff Marshall video!

[@ajs41]

I'd be interested to know if it's always been secret. I'm guessing if you went back to say 1975 it probably would have a sign on the outside.

[@norbitonflyer5625]

The bay platform had to go because it was too short for the 7-car S-stock trains. It is interesting to note that the ticket Hall at Mansion House is very close to the ends of the W&C platforms at Bank. A conection between the two would make the W&C much more useful for people in the westrn end of the City, and distribute people better along the platforms (as all three existing entrances are at the other end of the W&C platforms)

[@bensthebest]

I wonder where I was the day you filmed this! I couple of other things to note. There is a 2nd abandoned track area that is only accessible for staff training. There is also a whole abandoned section with old posters from the 80s. Last time I saw you there I should have mentioned this. Also I think you are incorrect about the through running being the middle platform as I’ve never seen it on any diagrams. Also I don’t think it’s possible to race the tube any more due to the new signalling system making for faster running between both mansion and cannon st. During the weekends there are still people trying and I’ve yet to see any one so it since the s stock went ato

[@Nooticus]

Oh interesting!

[@awild10]

That secret entrance is the one I've mostly used over the years as it heads towards Cheapside and Gresham Street so has been the most logical direction to go in. Don't think I've ever used the other entrances.

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

Not even the very first time? "Tube? Probably down these unmarked stairs!"

[@allenwilliams1306]

1d (one old penny) in 1886 was worth 68p in current prices. I am almost certain that would have been for a 2 oz (56 gram) bar, because that is what used to be contained in the machines on railway stations half a century or more ago. With metrication, this size of bar shrank to 50g (but the price didn't), and the size has continued to shrink progressively, so this size bar now weighs only 45g, and costs around 75p. That's a lot smaller than the bar you were munching, Geoff. Prices (in new pence) per gram of milk chocolate in a vending-machine size bar are: 1886 -1·19p; 2024 -1·67p, This is a 40% increase in real terms in 138 years. Well, I thought that was quite interesting.

[@RogersRamblings]

Mansion House was the original London terminus of the Metropolitan District Railway.

[@Shalott63]

That £1.20 chocolate bar would be £1 4s in old money, i.e. 288 old pence, so chocolate bars would seem to have gone up 288 times since 1886!

[@ajs41]

On the other hand, the Bank of England inflation calculator shows that 1 old pence in 1886 is equivalent to 45.24 new pence in 2024, so the real terms increase is about 2.65 times as expensive, assuming they're the same amount of chocolate in weight.

[@Shalott63]

@@ajs41 Well, I intended my comment to refer to the decline in value of the currency rather than any increase in real value of chocolate bars, but what you say is also interesting. However, I'm not sure what the Bank bases its calculations on; my impression was that you could buy a loaf of bread with one old penny in 1886, but you couldn't buy one for 45p nowadays. It's actually very difficult to calculate the difference between buying power of currency at different times, because not all items increase/decrease in price at the same rate, so different authorities come up with different figures. According to the CPI inflation calculator the factor of increase is 163 (to nearest whole number) for sterling from 1886 to now, so based on that, 1d then would be 163d = 13s 7d now, i.e. about 68p.

[@James_Nicol]

Nice one Geoff! Love all these series! Mansion House is a nice station. Keep up your hard work!

[@princesspinkblue]

Whats Manor house?

[@James_Nicol]

​@@princesspinkblue omfg Im so dumb, I dont know why I got it confused with mansion house

[@AndyHolland-gz3jd]

Hi Geoff. When growing up my dad worked at there. Do recall a forth platform and indeed a old signal box. Glad the buffers are still there. Interestingly there was a signalling room that controlled a large section of the line as well where the leavers moved vertically. Things you remember

[@willingshelf]

This is the best station to visit St Paul’s, tourists never get off here to see it

[@GeorgeChoy]

Geoff Marshall and John Rogers releasing a video on the same day, I’m blessed. Thanks

[@ajs41]

John Rogers? Never heard of him but am going to look for his videos now.

[@ianmcclavin]

Heathrow Terminal 4 Station also has those 3-D roundels on the platforms.

[@SBEARD12345]

Piece of trivia, what you pointed to as track in the disused was actually the new set of points ready for embankment. It was a terminus back in the day. And has toilets each side for drivers.

[@fishpie400]

Grafitti on one of the trains passing through at 4:36. Surprised to see that, thought they all use some kind of special paint so grafitti doesn't adhere. Back in the early 90s on the old Met line trains (my line) there used to be so much tagging and then it seemed to kind of go away and you don't really see it any more.

[@andymerrett]

I think the "special paint" is more about marketing and charging more than over effectiveness :)

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Apparently the amount of graffiti became so overwhelming on the lovely bare aluminium trains of (not that) old, that London UndergrounD took advice and started painting the tubes again.

[@offichannelnurnberg5894]

Graffiti story from my hometown: On the first of the six farewell rides of the old DT-1 stock some moron approached the train from the bushes at an above ground station and sprayed blue paint all over the rear carriages. They did not cancel the rides though, they just uncoupled the rear unit and gave it a wash so at the end of the day they could run the 4 car unit on it's last ride, which was obviously crowded.

[@mdhazeldine]

Used to commute here regularly from Richmond to my old office in Queen Victoria Street (by St. Paul's). I would always sit at the front and exit at the end like you showed, and come out the main entrance. Going home I would stand at the bit you said looked like you were in a tunnel. Even though I've been there so many times, I never knew about that secret entrance! Just goes to show and you work out your best route and then you just stick to it and rarely take the time to explore. You just want to get to work and back home as fast as possible usually.

[@Sim0nTrains]

Do love those buffer stops and didn't knew about that secret entrance, great video Geoff

[@razzle1964]

That particular ‘secret’ entrance was always good to fall into, when falling out of Ye Olde Watling, I recall.

[@alessandrowda]

2:25 A lot of people call those decorations ‘temples’ (especially at Temple Station, where they are highly visible). However, I’ve always seen them as the patterns you often see on the daggerboards on old station canopies - particularly at old District Railway stations you see those patterns.

[@Bondek1996]

when I grabbed coffee at the Costa that used to be round the corner by the church, I always used that secret entrance. More by accident then anything.

[@MrGreatplum]

Great stuff, Geoff. I made the mistake of getting off there for the mansion house once; I’ve not made the same mistake twice 😆

[@Dani331]

Nice video Geoff I've been to battersea power station on the Metropolitan jubilee and Northern lines And I returned on the Victoria line from Vauxhall to kings cross St Pancras then metropolitan to Ruislip Manor Some trains terminate at Mansion house

[@ianmcclavin]

Mansion House also used to have some solid red disc signs (instead of roundels) at the western end of the westbound platform. Trains were still reversing in the rush hours at Mansion House, in the now disused bay platform, when the station was closed for refurbishment some years ago.

[@robbiemorrison7085]

Mansion house is also one of 2 stations on the tube to have all 5 vowels, the other being South Ealing.

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Mansion House is where I have been to before and it’s not too far from Cannon Street station as I have been to Cannon Street station as well. Mansion House station is very nice.

[@Dirkus17]

I used to work on Cheapside so always used the "secret" entrance. There was a little kiosk halfway down but don't know if that's still there. My penny chocolate stop back in the day. The disused platform still occasionally ran trains (I stopped working there in 2015), but the "through" train almost always went first, but every now and then if there were delays that would sometimes be the one to get (plus you'd be guaranteed a seat).

[@aleksei5172]

I think the entrance is unmarked because the footpath is technically not public. Right in the beginning of the video you can see a black plate behind Geoff's shoulder. The text on the plate says "The landowner gives notice that this footpath has not been dedicated as a public footpath nor is there any intention to so dedicate it. The public is permitted to walk along this footpath. The landowner may withdraw permission, or temporarily close the path at any time."

[@kenzo_ccm]

I like how Mansion House contains all 5 official vowels in the English alphabet (AEIOU) :)

[@AndreiTupolev]

The terminus platform was probably taken out of use when the S stock came in as it wouldn't fit in it

[@Vis-sg8ro]

Nice video again Geoff, I remember the station was closed for a couple of years in the late eighties, no mention of what they were doing to it at that time?

[@travelswithjess]

Fantastic video Geoff! I’m really enjoying this series 😀

[@Jsone260]

This station is very nice!! Great video Geoff !

[@ruthbrierley1798]

The thing that I took away from this is that in the UK a Dairy Milk now costs £1.20. Scandalous!! 😉

[@RC99_Productions]

I've been to Mansion House before a couple times. Nice station. I also make a mental note to look out for the other platform whenever the train rides by Mansion House station. Not the other with the buffers. It's another bit during Mansion House and Cannon Street (or Blackfriars and Mansion House) where trains stop. If you know, you know.

[@greentravels2850]

American here, the term “Subway” confused me at first when visiting London a few years back. Going to the Science Museum from South Kensington station I walked through that lovely tiled walkway, kept me out of the elements for a bit!

[@bigjaffa02]

I saw "the magnificent buffers" play at the shepherds Bush empire back in '78

[@NearCry91]

5:23 30 Cannon Street in the background. Grade II listed. Built between 1974 and 1977. The location was formerly the site of a church, but it was bombed and destroyed in the Second World War. The site was one of the last bomb sites in London to be redeveloped.

[@lfcloyal8284]

I remember the red Nestle chocolate 🍫 machines on stations I think some had dairy crunch in them 😁

[@trainsimulatordriver]

I was there this morning exploring and used that way without knowing it was a secret

[@HenrysAdventures]

I remember the bay at Mansion House, it was in the last 10 years it was lifted.

[@LKBRICKS1993]

Excellent video Geoff I am loving this series.

[@maedero05]

Wonder TFL do something about that northern exit ? They´re so thorough to update things ! Legal dispute they´re not allowed to show a Underground sign there ?

[@Roland-pw5xj]

Favourite 'secret' entrance: the spiral staircase at Essex Road Station.

[@garybroadhurst3548]

I also struggle with some of the names on the south side of the circle. For the three I find difficult, I just think of "posh" buildings - a mansion house, a monument and a temple. Whatever works, althouhg, if you asked me which one is which I would struggle.

[@harrygleed423]

Hi Geoff, I am sure you have notice that no one speaks to other people on the tube, however on the New York Metro they appears to chat away to each other. My experience is fairly limited of the New York subway and I was going to a Yankees baseball game. Or has Del Boy would say ‘silly boys rounders’😊

[@Princessperlers]

I'm still doing the tube game. They have now updated it with the Elizabeth line.

[@londongrad52122]

When is White rose station opening🎉?

[@am19arch]

It’s the nearest station to the old Billingsgate market too

[@michaelmiller641]

Mansion house was even more interesting before they rebuilt it .with a footbridge halfway along the platform, the bay platform which was still used in the sixties, and remaining solid bullseye signs in the tunnel section. In the days of Q and R stock! And I remember Tuppeny chocolate bars!

[@whyyoulidl]

Thx Geoff. Really enjoyed. I also need to now go get some chocolate...

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

Thank you for the video Geoff it was very interesting. ❤

[@Photoline1]

I remember 10p chocolate bar machines on BR stations in the 80s, mainly because I never had the correct coin.

[@ianhelps3749]

Remember the chocolate vending machines on platforms of many stations in the 1970s. I think it was 10p.

[@74_pelicans]

Gosh u must be farken rusty and old

[@SaturnCanuck]

Nice. And don't forget the Toronto Subway!

[@MRTransportVideos]

I would love it if you did one of the stations on the Wimbledon Branch, because of the fact they're not actually 'underground' stations, rather repurposed railway stations - Southfields would be fun, due to the proximity to the All England Tennis & Croquet Club, and the way the line starts below ground level, then goes into a tunnel, endng on a raised embankment at East Putney.

[@oli_gordon]

3:00 I love that video Someone edited it and added the song "station to station" by Derrick Simons

[@rayhaanshoaib]

The secret entrance is manly for local residents on Bow Lane as marked on the plaque inside it

[@ElijahsTransport]

Great video Geof! Very interesting

[@NateMcIntoshmatchday]

Hi geoff, I'm going to make a edit of you, best clips to use?

[@paulne9]

Geoff with your £.1.20 bar of chocolate if you went back to when they were first selling the bars at 1d, with your £1.20 you could have bought 288 bars. as there was 240 pennies to the Pound 20p was = to 4 shillings, 12 pennies to one shilling :-)

[@christophervalkoinen6358]

Wiki is incorrect about that vending machine. It was the world's first coin operated vending machine but it wasn't chocolate, it was stamps, envelopes and paper. Those Victorians did love writing letters.

[@PamelaBane]

Thanks Geoff for another enjoyable video

[@a11oge]

Plenty of secrets here for any tube spotter

[@mistakay9019]

adjusted for inflation Geoff that penny would of been worth 1.08 today! ;)

[@PMA65537]

Used to be near my office.

[@andrewwebster6025]

Mansion House is so close to Cannon St you can see it from end of platform. Probably room for one train between the two stations

[@stephenlee5929]

Hi, you did a price comparison for the chocolate bar, what would the comparison have been for a ticket to the next station have been? Note I'm guessing the chocolate bar from the vending machine would have been somewhat smaller than the modern one you had. I know some were Nestle.

[@officialmcdeath]

If anything, the curved roof gives a Parisian feel \m/

[@keithparker1346]

I must say i really like the thumbnail for this video

[@NinjaSurferTrainspotting]

Lets go another geoff vid!

[@AndreiTupolev]

Why is there no one in public life with names like Sir T. Vansittart Bowater any more?

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

Good point, well made sir! Yours, Sir Edwin Scrotum~Scratch.

[@t.vanoosterhout233]

Intrigued by that sign somewhere in the beginning (1:55) saying "temple of Mithras". And at 2:24 there's this temple themed column. A situation begging for a dan brown-style thriller!

[@sixtysecondvlog]

I like this.

[@derekhorne8076]

As always a great video and thank you, but the pedant in me has to ask if Mansion House counts if you can change between the Circle and District lines?

[@raffym29]

Awesome episode - now do Southgate!

[@highpath4776]

Mansion Houe / Manor House. The London Tube has all the best places

[@grahamtanner1066]

The only thing I know about Mansion House is that it is the only underground station that uses all 5 vowels - or has that changed with the coming of the LizPurpCross line?

[@LeoStarrenburg]

Just wondering, how can a station which serves two lines be unconnected. Granted, you follow the map symbols but why do they use this symbol ?

[@ianmcclavin]

The Circle is basically a combination of the District and Hammersmith & City (formerly Metropolitan) Lines, and uses the same tracks.

[@Ryancool446]

Yeah it is good I love London

[@highpath4776]

Always think of "Mansion" Floor Polish when I hear of this place

[@tomheadington4762]

Is there any plans to put track back into the abandoned platform for use in emergencies when theres disruption yo to terminate trains early. I have a vauge memory that i heard that somewhere.

[@nanduthalange7736]

1.20 = 24 shillings or 288 old pence - formidable inflation - though I guess 140-odd years have gone by...

[@Ivorix-Roblox]

Can you do Bermondsey next?

[@quantisedspace7047]

Surely this isn't an unconnect ? It connects between the district and circle lines. I know they use the same metals and the same platforms but when does a route variation become a new line ?

[@kbtred51]

It's a convention. Same platform, same tracks, 'same' trains like different branches. If you are on a circle and want Upminster you do interchange but it is just stepping off and back on a following one. Jubilee was a separation as was Piccadilly in the west. Circle & HC are just constructs of the Met/District. Northern shows interchange with itself at the last point before branching but that has different platforms.

[@LennyBanter]

Another great video but why was the station called Mansion House where it is not that close to the actually Mansion House? I was hoping that would be answered in this video.

[@KayfabeKarl]

Great choice with the fruit and nut, i didnt realise that race the tube video started there so thats an interesting fact

[@kliximBRUH]

amazing video geoff

[@SebsTruckStop]

Love these! Am enjoying my dinner, now I have entertainment! 😁

[@nearestyoutube]

A quick 6 minute dinner 😂

[@Mathilda668]

If you are not active in the financial market right now, you are making a big mistake. I understand it could be due to ignorance, but if you want to build generational wealth and cultivate financial literacy, you need to be in the market.

[@АллаКарпович-м4ц]

What opportunities are there in the market, and how do I profit from it?

[@Mathilda668]

You can make a lot of money from the market regardless of whether it strengthens or crashes. The key is to be well positioned.

[@Judecowill]

I would really like to know how this actually works.

[@Mathilda668]

All you need is a good capital and the service of a professional broker, with those your investment will most certainly produce high yields.

[@МаринаЛапунова-д2з]

Do you have an idea of any good broker I can start with?

[@jamesabbott5242]

Awesome Video Geoff 😄😄

[@sausages1981]

Why have they disused the terminating bay platform? I would have thought that it was very useful when service disruption occurred?

[@EdVanMeyer]

Nice to see QV st again.

[@riversidbuses]

The old platform at Mansion House was used by the Middle Circle

[@Stevenspielburger]

This station got haunted once - they called Rentaghost!

[@MsLancer99]

Not a lot of people know that

[@mrbojangles8133]

Geoff, that's inflation for you

[@Bakerloo-Line-Fan]

Whoa congrats with the Views🎉🎉⭐️👍