When Crouch End was nearly on the Tube
By JOHN DEEKS
The development of Crouch End as we know it today happened in the late Victorian era. and the early 1900s. It happened because of one important factor, which was the Railway. The growing numbers of the middle classes wanted to escape the crowded and more polluted city centre, and live in a better environment.
The grassy hills around Crouch End and Muswell Hill were very attractive. Local builders saw the opportunity. This resulted in some big family houses being built in new tree lined roads, that were also close to a railway line that provided direct access to workplaces close to Moorgate and Broad Street in the City. Crouch End Station opened in 1867, with the branch line to Muswell Hill and Alexandra Palace being completed six years later. From Crouch End you could travel north to High Barnet, Mill Hill and Edgware.
The line prospered for nearly half a century by which time competition from a bus service between Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park was reducing passenger numbers.
In 1935 the London Passenger Transport Board drew up a plan to develop the railway to become part of the Northern Line. Work on this went ahead with rebuilding of station platforms. Electricity sub-stations to provide current to the new tracks were built next to Crouch Hill and Muswell Hill Station. The line even appeared on Tube Maps as “under construction” until 1950.
The austerity during and after the war years brought about a change of plan. The electrification of the railway was only completed between Highgate and High Barnet and also to Mill Hill. The plan to link the Northern Line through to Finsbury Park and on to Moorgate was over.
The branch line was reduced to a two carriage peak-time service between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace. This service was finally withdrawn in 1954, after 87 years serving the local community.
The legacy of the line is of course the Parkland Walk, enjoyed each day by so many. The local population has grown in recent years. The existence of a tube line would be seen by many as a vital fast link into town. Others would argue that what makes Crouch End unique is that it doesn’t have a tube station. Whichever view you take, there is no doubt that had the Northern Line come to Crouch End it would have changed the whole character of the area that we know today.
With great thanks to Nick Catford of disused-stations.org.uk for permission to use the images
