Finchley Central is a London Underground station, located in the Church End area of Finchley. It is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley and East Finchley stations. The station is at the junction for the short branch to Mill Hill East. It is around 7 miles north-northwest of Charing Cross and is in London fare zone 4.

The station was opened on 22 August 1867 as part of the Great Northern Railway's line between Finsbury Park and Edgware stations. As part of London Underground's Northern Heights plan, Northern line trains started serving the station in 1940 and main line passenger services ended in 1941.

History

Original station

left|thumb|Finchley Central station before the construction of the branch to High Barnet on an [[Ordnance Survey map|alt=A map shows a station with a few buildings nearby, but surrounded mostly by fields]]

Finchley Central station was built by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) on its line from Finsbury Park to Edgware. As construction of the line was nearing completion and before it 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 Finchley and Hendon, opened along with the railway to Edgware on 22 August 1867 in what was then rural Middlesex. It was <!-- these are the latitude and longitude of the station and Charing Cross --> north-northwest of Charing Cross as the crow flies, and from the GNR terminus at King's Cross. A branch line from Finchley Central to High Barnet was constructed by the GNR and opened on 1 April 1872. After the opening of the line to Mill Hill East, the uncompleted remainder of the works were removed from the map between 1943 and 1945.|group="n" work never restarted on the unimplemented parts of the Northern Heights plan. The proposal for Route 12B was also not developed by the LPTB or its successor organisations.

Before the war, Charles Holden and Reginald Uren designed replacement station buildings to be built on both sides of the road bridge at the north end of the station. The curtailment of the Northern Heights Plan means that the rebuilding work was not implemented and the station still retains much of its original Victorian architectural character today. As one of two EH&LR stations retaining its original buildings (the other is Mill Hill East), it is one of the oldest parts of the Underground system, pre-dating the first tunnelled section of the Northern line (the City & South London Railway) by more than twenty years.

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

The station today

The station has two entrances. The main one, in the original station building, is on the north side of the tracks in Chaville Way, a short access road from the junction of Ballards Lane, Regents Park Road and Nether Street. The second entrance is to the south of the tracks in Station Road.

The station is in a cutting and the two entrances are joined by a footbridge over the tracks from which stairs and lifts connect to the platforms. The station is accessible for disabled passengers travelling in both directions. All platforms have canopies at their northern ends. The large station car park on the north side of the tracks, with access from Chaville Way, occupies the site of the former goods yard.

Services

Finchley Central station is on the Northern line in London fare zone 4. It is on the High Barnet branch between West Finchley to the north and East Finchley to the south. It is also on a single-track branch to Mill Hill East.

Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–7 minutes between 05:44 and 01:05 northbound to High Barnet and 05:31 and 01:15 southbound to Kennington (via Charing Cross) or Morden (via Bank). Trains to Mill Hill East operate between 05:16 and 01:06 (except for peak hours and after 23.00 all trains operate as a shuttle between Finchley Central and Mill Hill East).

Connections

London Bus routes 13, 125, 143, 326, 382 and 460, night route N20, Superloop express route SL10 and school routes 626 and 683 serve the station.

Cultural references

thumb|Plaque commemorating Harry Beck|alt=A circular plaque on a brick wall with the words: "In memory of Harry Beck the originate of the distinctive London Underground map who lived near here and used the station regularly. The map is used by millions daily and has become recognised as a classic world-wide."

The station features in the Finchley Central mind game, which in turn became the basis for the game Mornington Crescent in the BBC Radio 4 series I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

The New Vaudeville Band's song "Finchley Central" reached No. 11 in the UK singles charts in 1967.

Harry Beck, designer of the original Tube map lived nearby and used the station in the 1930s. There is a commemorative plaque on Platform 3, together with a facsimile enamel panel of Beck's iconic 1933 design.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • London Transport Museum Photographic Archive