East Finchley is a London Underground station in East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. It is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between Finchley Central and Highgate stations. It is in London fare zone 3.

The station was opened on 22 August 1867, on the Great Northern Railway's line between Finsbury Park and Edgware stations. As part of London Underground's only partially completed Northern Heights plan, the station was completely rebuilt with additional tracks in the late 1930s. Northern line trains started serving the station on 3 July 1939 and main line passenger services ended on 2 March 1941.

History

Original station

thumb|left|alt=A monochromatic map the station surrounding by fields|East Finchley station in 1873 (then named 'East End, Finchley')

East Finchley station was built by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) on its line from Finsbury Park station to Edgware station. Before the line was opened, it was purchased in July 1867 by the larger Great Northern Railway (GNR), whose main line from King's Cross ran through Finsbury Park on its way to Potters Bar and the north. The station, originally named East End, Finchley, opened along with the railway to Edgware on 22 August that year. The station was given its current name either on 1 February 1887 or, alternatively, in 1886. work never restarted on the unimplemented parts of the Northern Heights project.

British Railways (the successor to the LNER) freight trains continued to serve the station's goods yard until 1 October 1962, when it was closed.

Description of the building

left|thumb|View of platforms with glazed stairwells and offices spanning the tracks

The new station was constructed in an Art Deco/Streamline Moderne design by Charles Holden with L H Bucknell.

thumb|Aumonier's The Archer statue

A strong feature of the station is the semi-circular glazed stairways leading to the enclosed bridge over the tracks occupied by staff offices. Prominent from the platforms and dominating the main entrance façade is The Archer, a statue by Eric Aumonier of a kneeling archer captured as if having just released an arrow. The archer is intended to commemorate Finchley's ancient association with hunting in the nearby Royal Forest of Enfield. The station is a Grade II listed building. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–7 minutes between 05:40 and 01:01 northbound and 05:34 and 00:12 southbound (as of 2015).

Connections

London Buses routes 102, 143, 234, 263, 603 and H3 and night routes N20 and N263 serve the station.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • London Transport Museum Photographic Archive