Chancery Lane tube station

Chancery Lane
Northeastern entrance
Chancery Lane Location of Chancery Lane in Central London
Location	Holborn
Local authority	London Borough of Camden
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	1
London Underground annual entry and exit
2011	16.04 million
2012	15.90 million
2013	16.52 million
2014	16.59 million
Key dates
30 July 1900	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
London Transport portal

Chancery Lane is a London Underground station in Holborn, central London. It opened in 1900 and takes its name from the nearby Chancery Lane.

The station is on the Central line, between St. Paul's and Holborn stations, within fare zone 1.

It is located at the junction of High Holborn, Hatton Garden and Gray's Inn Road, with subway entrances giving access to the ticket office under the roadway.

History

The station was opened by the Central London Railway (CLR) on 30 July 1900. The current station entrance is not the original. The original, disused station building is on the north side of High Holborn at Nos. 31-33, approximately 400 feet (122 m) to the west, closer to High Holborn's junction with Chancery Lane. Originally, provided with four lifts between ground and platform levels, the station was rebuilt in the early 1930s to operate with escalators. It was not possible to construct the inclined escalator shaft between the platforms and the existing entrance and so a new sub-surface ticket hall was constructed below the road junction. The new station entrance came into use on 25 June 1934. The old entrance building became redundant and, in recognition of the location of the new entrance, the station was renamed Chancery Lane (Gray's Inn), although the suffix subsequently fell out of use.

When the CLR excavated the running tunnels it routed them to avoid passing under surface buildings in order to limit the risk to surface buildings from vibration. At Chancery Lane, the tunnels are placed with the eastbound tunnel above the westbound one.

It is one of eight Underground stations with a deep-level air-raid shelter underneath it. After World War II this was turned into Kingsway telephone exchange. Access to the shelter was via the original station building and lift shaft as well as subsidiary entrances in Furnival Street and Took's Court.

Accidents and incidents

On 25 January 2003, a 1992 Stock train derailed at Chancery Lane, injuring 32 passengers, after a motor became detached from the train. All services on the entire Central line and the Waterloo & City line (which also uses 1992 Stock trains) were suspended, as the trains had to be taken out of service whilst the cause of the failure was determined and appropriate modifications made to the trains.

Connections

London Buses routes 8, 25, 17, 45, 46, 242, 341 and 521 and night route N8 serve the station.

Gallery

• 

  Eastbound platform looking west

• 

  Westbound platform looking east

• 

  The shortest escalator on the Tube network

• 

  Roundel, eastbound platform

• 

  Southern entrance

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Chancery Lane, 1914
  • Sub-surface ticket hall, 1934
  • Subway entrance at the corner of Gray's Inn Road, 1934

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Holborn towards Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip		Central line		St. Paul's towards Epping, Hainault or Woodford (via Hainault)
	Former service
British Museum towards Ealing Broadway		Central line (1900-33)		St. Paul's towards Liverpool Street