Alfie's View

Published: 14/11/2018

South Kensington Underground Station in South west London, is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines.

Interesting facts

The station was opened on 24 December 1868 and was originally designed by John Fowler to have two platforms.

During World War 1 the unused westbound tunnel was used to store art from the Victoria & Albert Museum and china from Buckingham Palace.  From 1927 to 1939, it  was used as a signalling school: during World War II it contained equipment to detect bombs falling in the River Thames which might require the emergency floodgates on the under-river tunnels to be closed.

South Kensington is one of two tube stations (the other being Sloane Square) mentioned in the song "When you're lying awake" from the operetta Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan.