Wapping station has a street level ticket hall, which leads down to two single platforms via lifts and staircases. Wapping as it is now was opened as ‘Wapping and Shadwell’ on the 7th of December 1869 by the East London Railway. It was renamed ‘Wapping’ on the 10th April 1876. The street level ticket hall was entirely rebuilt to allow lifts to be installed from the 4th of October 1915 and was again closed in 1959-60 for repair work after the station was damaged by a bomb during the Second World War. The exact date of the bomb damage being the 11th of September 1940.

The building underwent further modifications in 1981 and 1982 when the lifts were replaced. The surface building consists of a polygonal rotunda (which houses the lift machinery) on the roof and a grey ticket hall ‘block’. A vaulted brick ceiling, like Shadwell covers the platforms. There is also an open section at the northern end of the platforms. The platforms at Wapping are very narrow so seating can not be provided. From the platforms you can observe the portals of the Thames Tunnel which the East London Line makes use of.

They were constructed by Brunel, and completed in 1843. It was the first tunnel to be built under the Thames and nobody knew what to do with it! The East London Railway converted the tunnel to rail operation and it has remained this way ever since. There is a spiral staircase within the lift shaft, which was originally the only way pedestrians could get to the tunnel. The tunnel portals (two of them) and the staircases down from street level have been awarded Grade II listed status.

Just click on the image for a larger picture.

Street level ticket hall

Looking down! The stairs

Looking up! From the bottom

Lower lift landing

Plaque commemorating the reopening of the East London Line after it’s refurbishment

The two portals of the Thames tunnel

The two platforms at Wapping

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