Tower Hill tube station explained

Symbol:underground
Symbol2:river
Tower Hill
Manager:London Underground
Owner:Transport for London
Locale:Tower Hill
Borough:London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Platforms:3
Fare Zone:1
Coordinates:51.51°N -0.076°W
Map Type:Central London
Label Position:left
Original:London Transport Executive
Events1:Opened
Cyclepark:No
Toilets:No
Access:yes
Tubeexits05:17.446
Tubeexits06:18.998
Tubeexits07: 19.440
Tubeexits08: 20.310
Tubeexits09: 21.613-->

Tower Hill is a London Underground station in Tower Hill in the East End of London. It is on the Circle line between Monument and Aldgate stations, and the District line between Monument and Aldgate East. Tower Hill is within Travelcard zone 1 and is a short distance from Tower Gateway station for the Docklands Light Railway, Fenchurch Street station for National Rail mainline services, and Tower Millennium Pier for River Services.

History

The station was built on the site of the former Tower of London station that closed in 1884. The present Tower Hill station opened in 1967 and replaced a nearby station with the same name but which was originally called Mark Lane, that was slightly to the west.

In 2021, Transport for London made Tower Hill the tenth Underground station to replace some standard platform logos with 'poppy roundels' for the period leading up to Remembrance Day each year.[1] Opposite the station in Trinity Square Gardens is The Merchant Navy Memorial[2] [3] commemorating merchant seafarers lost in the two World Wars and Falklands Campaign who have no grave but the sea. Its total of some 36,000 names is greater than that of any other Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial in the UK.[4]

Design

The entrance to Tower Hill station is a few metres from one of the largest remaining segments of the Roman London Wall which once surrounded the historic City of London. A small section of this wall is visible above the track at the far Eastern end of the Westbound platform, near the ceiling.

Services

Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but the typical off-peak service pattern is:

Future

A Transport Supporting Paper released by the office of the Mayor of London envisages the closure of Tower Gateway DLR station and the branch serving it, with a replacement interchange being provided via new platforms at Tower Hill tube station. The reasoning is given that currently, 90 per cent of DLR City passengers use Bank station, but only 75 per cent of services go there; this would increase service to Bank from 23tph to 30tph, thereby unlocking more capacity on the Bank branch.[5]

Connections

London Buses day and nighttime routes, plus long-distance coach routes serve the station.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Hoefling . Roger . December 2021 . 'Transport for London's tribute' . The Journal of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners . XXV . 12 . 410–411.
  2. Web site: The Merchant Navy Memorial, First World War section . 3 September 2022 . Historic England.
  3. Web site: The Merchant Navy Memorial, Second World War section . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903171821/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1031597 . 3 September 2022 . 3 September 2022 . Historic England.
  4. Web site: What's the biggest war memorial in the UK? . 3 September 2022 . Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  5. Web site: LONDON INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN 2050: TRANSPORT SUPPORTING PAPER. Mayor of London. Greater London Authority.
  6. Web site: Buses from Tower of London. June 2022. TfL. 20 July 2022.