Mill Hill East

I guess I'd always thought, for any number of forgotten reasons, that Mill Hill East Tube stop was a later addition, as it is a one-stop extension from Finchley Central, to the Northern Line. The truth, it turns out, is rather the opposite, and considerable more complicated.

The station opened in 1867 on the Edgeware, Highgate and London Railway Line. It was part of line that went out to Edgeware, which now sits at the end of a different branch of the Northern Line. Originally planned as a two-track line, the opening of the High Barnet branch of the same line five years later caused such a big decrease of traffic that only one track was finished. Indeed, to this day, Mill Hill East is the least used station on the entire Northern Line (780,000 entry and exits in 2005).

WWII broke out while the entire line was being electrified for inclusion in the London Underground, and passenger service was halted along the line in 1939. However, because Mill Hill East (try typing this 10 times fast; it's fun.) provided access to Mill Hill Barracks, the track was electrified to Mill Hill East and the station reopened in 1941.

Much of the land around the razor wire and guard dog protected barracks was sold of for development, and so what's left is a mixture of residential and big store development.

Researching Mill Hill East led me to discover why it is that the Northern Line is so mixed up. For those who are interested, and it is rather fascinating, it's largely the result of the Northern Heights project, or lack of it. Now I just have to figure out why it's so slow.

Had a butcher's in the, er, butchers, but other than that, there wasn't much to do there. Other than being able to say you've been there, natch.

The map.