Going Underground: The History, Heritage and Hidden Beauty of the Tube

Embark on a captivating historical tour of 70 of London’s Underground stations through the lens of Mark Deakin, creator of the widely acclaimed @londonundergroundknowledge Instagram page.

From unravelling the stories behind station names to exploring the intricacies of secret passageways and the fascinating tales woven into seat cover fabrics, Going Undergroundrevitalises the conventional historical narrative about what lies beneath our feet.

Interest in the London Underground has long persisted among enthusiasts, historians, and architects alike. What sets this book apart is Deakin’s ability to seamlessly marry these interests. The patchwork nature of this book breathes new life into a substantial history lesson and appeals to anyone intrigued by the rich history of these tunnels, making it accessible to both amateur enthusiasts and those with a more academic inclination.

Included are some quirkier facts of the lesser-known stations, which are often the truest to their original design as they have remained untouched. Readers will be familiar with some of the more well-known stations on the merit of their own personal stories; rather than just architectural beauty.

Inevitably on a network of 272 stations, some fantastic stops are missing from this book, and in a lot of cases one of those will be ‘your’ station. Hopefully each of the 70 stations featured will have at least one titbit to raise interest – after all, that would be within Transport for London’s design mission, which states that ‘Each station must have at least one distinguishing feature, one special moment, which allows it to be memorable and engage with its immediate neighbourhood.’