Chesham tube station

Chesham is a London Underground station in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. The station was opened on 8 July 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR). It is the terminus and only station on the Chesham branch of the Metropolitan line, which runs from Chalfont & Latimer. The station, a Grade II listed building, is in London fare Zone 9 (previously zone D).

Chesham
Station entrance
Chesham Location of Chesham in Buckinghamshire
Location	Chesham
Local authority	Buckinghamshire
Grid reference	SP960016
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	1
Accessible	Yes[1]
Fare zone	9
London Underground annual entry and exit
2014	0.81 million[2]
2015	0.88 million[2]
2016	1.07 million[2]
2017	1.13 million[2]
2018	1.11 million[3]
Key dates
1889 (1889)	Opened
1966	Goods yard closed[4]
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
WGS84	51.7052°N 0.6113°W / 51.7052; -0.6113
London transport portal

Chesham station is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Charing Cross, making it the furthest London Underground station from central London. It is both the northernmost and westernmost station in the system. The distance between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer is the longest between adjacent stations on the network at 3.89 miles (6.26 km),[5]

History

The station was opened on 8 July 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway as the company's temporary northern terminus when the railway was extended from Rickmansworth. The line had been intended to extend to Tring railway station with connections to the London and North Western Railway's West Coast Main Line.[6] However, before work was begun, the MR chose an alternative route across the Chilterns via Aylesbury. The line to Chesham was retained as a branch from the new route and construction began in late 1887. Although the MR continued to buy land between Chesham and Tring for some years after the station's opening, the route was never extended further.[7][8]

The station originally had a goods yard and two platforms, but the goods yard was closed in July 1966,[4] and one of the two platforms was closed in November 1970.[9] The goods yard site is now the car park for the station and a Waitrose supermarket.[10] [note 1]

On 16 and 17 August 2014 the branch line celebrated its 125th anniversary of operating. It was celebrated using London Underground's first steam locomotive, Metropolitan 1. It ran from Rickmansworth to Chesham (with the first and last service of each day starting or ending at Harrow-on-the-Hill to allow stabling of the set at Ruislip), meaning that the line from Chalfont and Latimer to Chesham had to be closed for a period of time to allow for the special service.[11]

Grade II listed building

The station is a Grade II listed building. The reasons for listing the station at this level were:

• Architectural interest: the most complete surviving example of a late-C19 rural Metropolitan station
• Historic interest: a vivid reminder of the Metropolitan Railway's early expansion into London's rural hinterland
• Ensemble value: the station building, signal box and water tower form an unusually coherent and intact group.[12]

Services

The Chesham Shuttle on the last official day of operation at Chalfont & Latimer.

Since 12 December 2010, Chesham has had an 8-car train every 30 minutes direct to Aldgate.[13][14] In the morning and evening peak, trains run non-stop between Moor Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill, then calling at Finchley Road and all stations to Aldgate. During off-peak times trains now call at all stations to Aldgate. For Chesham residents this is a major improvement to the timetable, as previously Chesham was served in the off-peak solely by a 4-car shuttle train to Chalfont & Latimer, where passengers had to change onto a train to or from Amersham. Although the reasons for the new service pattern were largely technical (the S8 Stock, whilst designed as two four car trains, cannot be split into four-car trains as they only have driving cabs at the outer end of each unit), it was expected to ease congestion on local roads by increasing Chesham's attractiveness to park-and-ride commuters.[15][16][17]

Gallery

• 
  The single platform and floral display
• 
  Station approach pictured in 1984
• 
  In 1957 a 4-4-2T locomotive of LNER class C13 (GCR Class 9K) waits at Chesham with a train for Chalfont & Latimer
• 
  Chesham station garden, water tower and signal box (looking north towards the station building)
• 
  The approach to the station, looking north, showing (left and right) where tracks were formerly laid
• 
  Chesham signal box in 2008, with a sign "CHESHAM" not in the TfL standard Johnston typeface
• 
  Celebration dinner menu for Metropolitan Railway extension to Chesham 15th May 1889 by Spiers & Pond Ltd

Notes

1. The three track layout may be seen during the opening credits of John Betjeman's TV documentary Metro-land.[10]

References

1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2020.
2. "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures (2007-2017)" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
3. "Station Usage Data" (CSV). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2018. Transport for London. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
4. Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News. London Underground Railway Society (591): 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
5. "Key facts". Transport for London. Distances. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
6. Simpson 2004, p. 8.
7. Simpson 2004, p. 14.
8. Foxell 1996, p. 32.
9. Foxell 1996, p. 72.
10. Foxell 1996, p. 84.
11. London Underground Limited. !25 anniversary of Chesham Branch
12. Historic England. "Chesham Underground Station including water tower to south and signal box to south-east (1401704)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
13. Goodman, Camilla (17 November 2010). "Chesham shuttle to be replaced by direct trains next month". Buckinghamshire Advertiser. Uxbridge. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
14. "Amersham and Chesham". TfL. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
15. "'S' stock making its mark". Modern Railways. London. December 2010. p. 46.
16. "Chesham and Amersham consultation on service improvements". TfL. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
17. "Consultation on proposed changes to Metropolitan line services at Amersham and Chesham" (PDF). TfL. February 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2012.

Bibliography

• Foxell, Clive (1996). Chesham Shuttle (2 ed.). Chesham: Clive Foxell. ISBN 0-9529184-0-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Simpson, Bill (2004). A History of the Metropolitan Railway. 2. Witney: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 1-899246-08-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Transport for London,
• Chesham Town Council

Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Terminus		Metropolitan line Chesham-Baker Street		Chalfont & Latimer towards Baker Street or Aldgate