Maida Vale Tube Station History - Only Unconnect

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Time to visit another station on the Tube Map that just has a station "Tick" and not a Connector Blob, and we're onto the Bakerloo Line and the gorgeous station that is Maida Vale ...
With thanks to Adrian Scottow / ChodHound @Flickr for use of Paddington Filming Image.

[@chrisjones5411]

Ah Maida Vale. The only station constructed entirely out of beer

[@johnwalker6736]

Oh, yeah ! “Made of ale” ……never thought of that……very good!

[@TalesOfWar]

Take your goddamn thumbs up. And think seriously about what you've done!

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Possibly one of the oldest in the book.... but still funny!😅

[@rhythmicallydivine]

I always wondered why there wasn't a pub round there called 'made of ale'. Missed a trick.

[@alexisdespland4939]

no dobt where all the dead drunk train drivers hangout. lol

[@biggussconnus]

I once saw Paul Weller going down into this tube station. It was not midnight, but he was going underground. The kind of classy customer you would expect at Maida Vale.

[@alanclarke4646]

Ouch! Go sit on the Naughty Step! 😂😂😂

[@stuartparks8094]

I once saw Paul Weller hailing a cab outside Goodge Street tube station. To this day I regret not asking if he still didn't fancy the tube

[@geoffreyplow7255]

@@stuartparks8094There was an A bomb in Wardour Street. That’s why he took the cab.

[@wannyyydilliamsss]

Was he on the way home to his wife? Was she lining up the cutlery, was she expecting him?

[@ChuffedDom]

He lives on Warwick Avenue, I saw him come out of his house once.

[@SampleTracks2224]

The doors would likely have been (a) to protect the tube from a burst in the water pipes or culverts that pepper the area, particularly considering that Maida Vale was fairly low-lying; and (b) to stop a torrent of water from a flooded tube from flooding MV itself, including the A5 (Maida Vale the road) which is a key trunk route. Because it is low-lying, it would likely be too slow to drain away. They were fitted after the war, but aren't used any more as flood defences have since improved. This is as explained to me by the station master, nearly 30 years ago now.

[@Pigglesgetsit]

That sound! That’s the tube for me. All the trains sounded like that when I was young

[@Shadowtail292]

The odd looking tower at the top of the station is the equivalent of 15 stories

[@maryapatterson]

😁

[@stephenpegum9776]

When I hear the name of this Tube station I always think it should be written "Made of Ale" !! 🤣

[@AaronOfMpls]

Fitting for a place named after a pub. 😁

[@travelswithjess]

Love Maida Vale! One of my many favourite tube stations.

[@user-fm4hd3zw3q]

My Grand Aunt lived at Casteline Mansions. Hence this was the tube station I was most familiar with back when I used to visit London. Good Lord! Last time was 30 years ago. Time flies. And yes it is a lovely station. My parents always assumed the heavy doors were a bomb shelter.

[@funnkyfunk]

My old local station, before moving abroad to live. Great part of London and great station. Bakerloo Line for the win!! ❤❤❤

[@MuzzyJawad]

Love Maida Vale! It's my local station. Thank you for the video. 😊

[@kat.nicolette]

Lovely videography, Geoff. The sound of the name is just perfect in a way. I can see why it’s been used for films in the past.

[@user-uf1qh4im4z]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Maida Vale . So many happy memories from that area

[@EtonMessUK]

100%. Brill part of town and was lucky to live there for a number of years in the noughties.

[@avayaridatrane2836]

Genuinely one of my favorite stations that has been highlighted in the Only Unconnect series. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

[@willhampsonpianomusic9587]

Another fun fact that also may be useful one day: Maida Vale is just under a 10 minute walk from St John's Wood tube station. Looking on the tube map, you'd think the two are ages away from each other, yet one of my friends regularly commutes from Stonebridge Park to Westminster. If the weather's nice, instead of changing at a usually very busy Baker Street, she'll instead take the pleasant walk, which passes right by the famous Abbey Road Zebra Crossing, to St John's Wood, which is much quieter, and carry on from there!

[@tradeplatetravels]

Beautifully filmed, engaging presenter and full of interesting info!

[@NathanSimpsonnathanisbeast]

Maida Vale was also where the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was

[@chicmbangu8669]

Put your hand up if you ❤ the bakerloo line

[@personalsigh]

It's hot, loud and slow. It's probably my least favourite line... Or maybe the central line

[@quintuscrinis8032]

Someone has too. Although I will agree it's far from the worst.

[@Mrbdot91]

Most polluted line 👎

[@pav504]

The Bakerloo line is my favourite line to travel on 😍

[@rockerjim8045]

One day all of the residents of Lewisham will agree with you.

[@marcghiggeri4965]

Once again happy to see a new episode - and I just want to say once again thanks from Boise ID for your channel - London is my favorite city in the world and if I could go there every year I would - but its great to see vicariously thru this channel every so often.....

[@WithCars909]

It's 1 of 6 pubs, nice to know 😅

[@user-acs64]

Very interesting information Geoff

[@TheDriller-Killer]

Does the abandoned Bull And Bush station count in the Pub Tube Quiz I wonder?

[@user-hi7co7ni5h]

Could one theory for the floodgates be that the subterranean river Westbourne is nearby? That, or they're useless - made to no avail

[@ADAMEDWARDS17]

or a major water main in a nearby road?

[@sirBrouwer]

are we sure that they are floodgates and not blast protection doors. I can imagine that they could also help in that sense.

[@davidbray5982]

The floodgates are are in terrible condition, it can be seen on the edge - wear and tear

[@SlivGames]

It could be a GAME THEORY (matpat)😂

[@bobk4404]

This makes sense. Fractures of primary water mains or sewers could exacerbate direct hits at such locations. I believe that the bombing at Balham in October 1940 was made even worse by the fact that seven million gallons of water, sewage and silt had to be pumped out from the disaster scene. The line was not fully re-opened for three months. @@ADAMEDWARDS17

[@ryanhall9920]

6:01 Power stance from Geoff

[@simonf8370]

Thanks Geoff. What a lovely building. Love those shiny tiles...

[@nigel9843]

Such a lovely station and a very enjoyable video to watch.

[@Slycockney]

The Hero of Maida is where my late Dad used to drink and is also where I had a few pints before my wedding back in '77

[@highpath4776]

Building terraces of houses (in brick, or stone) one would often build the "key" and the chimneys as pairs - waiting for the next build (or builder) to continue the terrace when time and money permitted, sometimes for various reasons ( change of land ownership here for the station ), that never happened , but you wouldnt/couldnt practically take them out without destabilising structure of the resulting end wall

[@Lilla.Harangozo]

Thaks for the video! Maida Vale is one of my favourite stations 😊

[@roderickmain9697]

I'm sure theres another series to be made on "Stations with Mysterious doors". Some of which I do know have(/had) MoD personnel behind them.

[@AllTheUnderground]

Swiss Cottage and Royal Oak are two other stations name after pubs.

[@kjh23gk]

Just googled it: Angel, Elephant & Castle, Manor House, Nine Elms, Royal Oak and Swiss Cottage.

[@ThomasVanderWal]

I only knew of Royal Oak and the Elephant and Castle

[@GUNNERS_GOAT]

@@kjh23gkAnd Maida Vale.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Perhaps the giant doors were that it may have been intended as an air raid shelter, or a secure store? Perhaps an archive for Important Documents

[@johnbennett1465]

Even here in the US I learned that underground stations were used as bomb shelters. Given that it opened during the war, it seems extremely likely that the doors were blast shields.

[@TalesOfWar]

@@johnbennett1465 The Moscow Metro was also built with this in mind which is why much of it is so far below ground.

[@annakissed3226]

The doors are over pressure doors. They could be used in wartime to insulate people from the outside. But equally they could be used to manage the pressure from the tubes as trains moved through them. For example it depends on how close Maida Vale is to the surface, would it be effected by the very low pressures in storms causing vacuums that could potentially bring down the roof of a tube. Also how & of what was the tube constructed. Was it cut and cover through wet sandy soil? That's makes for unstable environment. Can I suggest talking to the B1M channel and jointly doing some research. The engineering of the London underground and sewer system was a marvel of Victorian engineering. For example many tube lines were constructed in London Rivers i.e the path of least resistance with the river being fed into an iron bypass pipe. You mention a canal nearb, the doors may be in relation to a breach between the canal & the tube Do you play the game Railway Rives based on a hex maps from all over the country. A believe a very accurate map of London was used to create the railway rivals map of London as it gave rivers, different types of clay and rock, and handling for coffee dams etc.

[@andywash]

@@johnbennett1465 Wrong war though.

[@johnbennett1465]

@@andywash did I miss hear? I thought he said WW II.

[@Jwm367t]

After being in London many years I actually only ended up using this station a couple weeks ago for the first time. Loved what I saw and it feels like you go a little bit back in time when you step off the train. However, I was concerned with the mould and damage to the concrete by the archway as you enter/ exit the escalators - I do hope they fix that soon. Saw the same issue with Warwick avenue station which shares a lot of resemblance with Maida Vale!

[@davidchilds9590]

Vis-a-vis the flood doors, I wonder how deep the tunnels are at Maida Vale compared with the Thames. The worry in WWII was that a bomb in the river might flood the tunnels.

[@markfrench9004]

Richard Curtis's About Time was also filmed here. God damn I have a soft spot for that movie.

[@katashworth41]

It’s a great film, but I cannot watch it for fear of crying all the water out of my body.

[@timowagner1329]

Maida Vale as a name sounds fantastic

[@Stealthwolf-eq3tt]

Loving these series Geoff, had family used to live near maida vale, know it well!

[@anthonylloyd6094]

Another cracking vid. Gutted that I never got to see Stanley Heaps Paddington tube building before it got demolished....

[@trainspotter586]

Nice work Geoff Marshall

[@bendavidson3595]

Love your stuff as always G

[@benh4509]

Great vid as always Geoff!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Underground Names are so iconic.

[@mariannebergeron7741]

You always make my day geoff

[@GUNNERS_GOAT]

Also Nine Elms is named after a pub, according to Wikipedia.

[@darrenblois8495]

Pitch for my favourite unconnected stations: Russell Square and/or Goodge Street (yes, I often stay in Bloomsbury). Surely the lift-only design deserves a video, as does Goodge Street's separate entrance/exit doors.

[@guillaumemaurice3503]

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

[@GeorgeChoy]

I love Maida Vale station, I used to go Maida Vale quite a few times in the noughties.

[@MrTTar]

Regarding the absence of additional stories above the station, my understanding (which could be completely wrong) is that its never had extra floors - but this was not the original intention. The station was designed with the idea of having residential/commercial properties above (which would generate additional revenue for UERL). However, there was insufficient financing at the time given the ongoing war, so it never actually happened.

[@anthonylloyd6094]

I hosted a cycling tour of the Leslie Green stations.. The old Knightsbridge station building has been refurbished in new Oxblood tiling.

[@SkullsandCrows]

I LOVE THAT YOU DID MAIDA VALE!!! I grew up here, and lived on Abercorn place. I used to love the smell that hit you going into the station, I know weird, but the smell was unique and comforting. Also I remember when that ticket window was open. Miss my childhood area. Maybe I should pay a visit soon.x

[@geofftech2]

it's a gorgeous station, yes! Glad like you loved it ...

[@djdubls]

The chimneys shown at 5:34 would have been for the now demolished houses that were on the site prior the station being built, which would have adjoined the neighbouring property. I assume they remain because they form part of the same chimney stacks for the adjoining property. I also think the stack on top of the station building is for ventilation but could be wrong.

[@Mark.Andrew.Pardoe]

Whato Geoff, Surely the station is named after the nearby road "Maida Vale". If it was named for the pub, the station would have been "The Hero of Maida". I expect the road's name derives from the pub's name. Also the station was, like many others, designed to have have another building erected on top of it but this never happened. So the chimney breasts and fire places were provided for that building and forlornly wait. Note the brickwork of the neighbouring buildings has been specially keyed as well. It must be mentioned Samuel Heaps designed the station because Leslie Green had died few years earlier at the age of, i think, 33 caused by overwork and TB. However, after all this criticism, I did enjoy your video as I do all the others you make. I've been watching since Secrets of the Tube No. 6.

[@kevinjones4559]

Royal Oak feels like a pub name.

[@GUNNERS_GOAT]

It is.

[@XNA2NW3]

It’s just occurred to me that the last time I supported you was when I bought your book about visiting the towns that share names with Tube stations. Shame on me!

[@blakejarrettegibbons9119]

My personal favorite station on the tube network and that's not just because it is a local to me

[@philiptaylor7902]

One of six pubs… Freudian slip there Geoff!

[@AdityaJaokar]

Elephant and Castle is another one named after a pub

[@GUNNERS_GOAT]

Yeah, it says.

[@quintuscrinis8032]

Isn't Maida Vale in the little Venice area just round from the Regent' canal? Good reason to have flood prevention measures there.

[@jonathanchester5916]

Beautiful station and a beautiful area. I might be biased because I was born there. Maida Vale, not the tube station.

[@brianjkelleher]

would love a video on what you think of the development of the dublin metro

[@Jimyjames73]

Very good Geoff 😉🚂🚂🚂

[@krusty1473]

love your vids!😀

[@martinphillips3432]

Scents memory stays with us longer than most memories, and I remember the smell of the the Bakerloo and Circle Line from when I was a little kid and my mother would take us from Paddington to St. Pancras on our trip from Swansea to Harpenden. Someone told me that the scent I was trying to describe was “cordite”. Can anyone think of what it is that I am describing?

[@physiocrat7143]

Dust from brakes, ozone, warm grease, warm insulation - the London tube smell.

[@markpowell5532]

I was wondering around Maida Vale recently, waiting for a friend and explore the station only to be taken to one side by the security guard suspicious of my interest in the building and its features. Such a shame.

[@SirCluck]

Your the best travel KZbinr in the whole world. A special thanks to you for doing South Harrow which was my childhood station

[@ianneill1400]

The old place looks like it needs a deep clean!!

[@adrianbailey564]

Does Gloucester Road count as one of these stations? The reason I ask is that yes, Gloucester Road Station is of course served by three lines (Circle, District and Piccadilly lines) but on a carriage map on the trains, it isnt shown as an interchange. It's just a tick (no connector blob). Even more curiously, is how it is promoted as an interchange on the Piccadilly line announcement but not on the sub-surface trains. This is because the interchange is promoted better at neighbouring South Kensington.

[@shero113]

Elephant & Castle, Angel, Old Bull & Bush, Kings Cross has a sort of pub history, but I don't think counts.

[@barttheanorak]

A welcome return. I've missed this series. PS Geoff didn't you want to talk to me at one stage?

[@Eric_Hunt194]

We need to start a petition for the new Bakerloo Line trains (when they eventually arrive) to have a few bays of 'proper' transverse seats per carriage like the S8s.

[@firealarmexpecter9068]

I wish u went on the SL3 on the opening Saturday i was there

[@MelanieRuck-dq5uo]

It is clear from this video that Geoff is pubs-mad!!!

[@susanwassall361]

2.18. Bit of Film trivia. Abercorn Place is mentioned during the car chase scene in the Stanley Baker Film Robbery(based on the Great train Robbery).

[@AndreiTupolev]

2:17Must have been a fan 😁

[@ronanmc2112]

Great series. Watched the lot today. It makes no sense but for some reason I prefer this to the End of the Line series.

[@esjay2011]

Thanks

[@joshslater2426]

I thought I recognised this from Paddington! The name was different in the film though.

[@HenrysAdventures]

Tim Martin should by the old Madia Vale pub and reopen it as a Wetherspoon.

[@AudioTones67]

Geoff, if you could please do an Only Unconnect video on Borough that would be great. Thanks 🙏

[@mchparity]

Maybe the flood gates are for the canal overflow? It's pretty close to little Venice.

[@paulsengupta971]

It does look like something was demolished in order to build the station.

[@AaronOfMpls]

Yah, party wall from a previous building, maybe? Also, weren't these stations often built to allow buildings on top of them?

[@kjh23gk]

@@AaronOfMpls Yes, the Leslie Green ones were. The idea was that the stations would make the space above them valuable. It's odd that most didn't attract developers to build on top of them.

[@vulpa8226]

i would assume the platforms were intended to be used as a bomb shelter if needed

[@user-acs64]

2:35 1 of 6 pubs??? Very shocking information Geoff.

[@DANFUN32]

I wonder what dirty part of the station you put your hand on

[@delminto]

London underground is my favourite because u get to see London and I went on with my mom like on June I get to go to a wedding with my mum at night I never went on the underground at night

[@PrograError]

I wonder if that floodgate is actually a bomb door...

[@Bakerloo-Line-Fan]

Nice

[@eastlancsesteem]

Maida Vale is room 24 on the upper floor in Centrale Mansion.

[@user-wr7cv1ny5r]

Used to be a lovely Thai place around the side in Randolph Ave, now called Banana Tree Pan Asian cuisine whatever.

[@theberkeleysquaresocietyba9719]

By the way, the clock you see as you descend the escalator is always correct. Who looks afte it?

[@jayfielding1333]

2:47 had you been coal mining, Geoff?

[@jamesbalchin4640]

That mosaic inspired the producers of EastEnders to have a copy at Walford East

[@alistairgammond2221]

I suspect that staircase may be used during events at the nearby Lords Cricket Ground, knowing that it gets very busy on match days.

[@michaellittlejohns7968]

Next video do West Harrow

[@bbrauer5]

1:00 - Flood gates or maybe it's from WWII - to seal off the platforms (aka bomb shelters)?

[@notsmoothsteve]

Having been a bit out of focus in my channel's latest video, which pays tribute to Geoff, I have to say it's heartening to see that the master was a bit out of focus at one point in this video 🙂

[@Casey-Jones]

I have horrible memories of Maida Vale Station as my dentist was based just around the corner

[@rockerjim8045]

2.30

[@paulstokes7139]

Surely the station is named in celebration of the British victory in the 1806 Battle of Maida like the rest of Maida Vale (ie it’s named after the area)?

[@fredstephens9087]

Hi Geoff - I have a tube-related question that doesn’t seem to be googleable - why are the stations served by the Hammersmith & City and District lines not displayed as interchange stations on the tube map? In fact, why does the Hammersmith & City line exist when it has no unique stations? This has been puzzling me for some time!

[@MrGreatplum]

Excellent stuff, Geoff - it looked very quiet or did you have to be there all day until it was quiet enough?

[@MPProductions1372]

Hey Geoff just been to Cannon Street and Bridge they have special protocols for train enthusiasts that record do u get problems? Aka been told you can't?

[@fotoline]

An "Alight at Maida Vale for Abbey Road (Studios)" sign would not go wrong.