Site Records

Site Name: Blackheath Hill - Railway tunnel and air raid shelter

Blackheath Hill
London, SE 10
OS Grid Ref: TQ380767

Sub Brit site visit October 2007

After the war, the Helliot Machine Tool Company used the tunnel as a machine shop. Access into the tunnel was from the rear of the now much altered station building which was their office. At the rear of the building there was an open balcony which was, in fact, part of the original footbridge linking the two platforms. The cutting had been largely infilled but a ramp down into the tunnel had been built to maintain access.

Entrance to the shelter from the service road behind Plumbridge St. Photo Nick Catford click here to enlarge

When visited by railway historians O. J. Morris and J. Pelham in 1956 and 1957, the stairs, retaining walls and the north end of the platforms were still visible and a number of hand-painted railway signs could still be made out on the walls.

In 1958, the Helliot Machine Tool Company moved to Greenwich Church Street and after remaining unused for several years the station and tunnel were occupied by R. Taylor & Co. Machine Tools from 1966. The company is no longer listed after 1969, but strangely the 1973 Kelly’s Directory lists the Helliot Machine Tool

.............................................................................Company back in occupation.

Photo:The rear of the station building in 1972. The can is sitting in the entrance to the shelter. There was a slope and steps into the shelter.
Photo by Ian Baker

From 1973 the site was occupied by a husband and wife team, Alan and Margaret Storey trading as Maganal or W. A. Storey (Plastics) Ltd. The company made road signs for local authorities. Many road signs in use today were either made by or designed by this company. They were the first people to standardise signage, lighting of signs and provide a catalogue of replacement parts. Alan Storey also pioneered the reflective sign and in conjunction produced the Universal clip, which was also made in the underground factory. The tunnel was used as their workshop and housed welding equipment, a cutting machine and a vacuum machine; the surface building was their office and silk screen shop; the company had 15 employees. The site was sold to a property developer in 1986 and W.A. Storey moved to Peckham and ceased trading the following year following the death of Alan Storey.

Photo:During demolition of the station building in July 1987 the south portal was exposed for the first time. It is clear that the floor in the tunnel is well above track level so it is a mystery why what appear to be standard gauge rails can be seen in the tunnel floor.
Photo by Nick Catford

The station building remained empty for a year and was demolished in 1987 to make way for a new housing development called Robinscroft Mews. Worried that the new development might subside into the tunnel, the southern portal was fully excavated and the north ends of the platforms were exposed, wooden shuttering was placed across the portal and the excavation backfilled with concrete.

Photo:What appears to be standard gauge rails can be seen in the tunnel floor. The distance between the rails has been measured at 4' 8 1/2" (standard gauge). This floor is however 4 feet above the original track level.
Photo by Nick Catford

The tunnel was visited by the author in March 2008. At this time, the two-storey brick building on Blackheath Hill was empty and available to let; the last occupier had been the Regency Bakers. The main access into the building is from Plumbridge Street with a delivery entrance in the single-storey extension accessed from the service road behind the shops. There is a second set of double doors adjacent to this goods entrance which opens onto a flight of concrete steps going down 14 feet to a short passage. At the end of the passage a wooden door opens into the tunnel.

The remaining section of the twin-track brick-lined tunnel is 92 feet in length and 26 feet wide with two safety recesses in the side walls. At the north end, a concrete raft cuts through the tunnel to support the building above. There are several fluorescent light fittings fixed to the roof dating from the 1960s. The brickwork has been painted, but where one of the light fittings has become detached the original soot covering the tunnel roof can be seen.

At the north end of the tunnel metal rails can be seen in the concrete floor. The distance between them is 4’ 8 ½” (standard gauge) confirming that this is a section of original railway track. At the southern portal the wooden shuttering and the concrete infill behind it can clearly be seen.

Steps into the shelter from the rear of Plumbridge Street. Photo Nick Catford

Photo:The tunnel is now only just over half of its original length having been infilled beyond the buildings on the north side of Blackheath Hill.
Photo by Nick Catford

Ticket from Michael Stewart

Sources:

Terry Burr and Eleanor Monk - employees of W. A. Storey (Plastics) Ltd.
Margaret Storey – proprietor W A. Storey (Plastics) Ltd.
Cliff Marsh and Jean Ivermee – used the Sparta Street shelter during WW2.
A report on the remaining features of the Greenwich Park branch by O. J. Morris & J Pelham 1956/7.
Various minutes of the Greenwich ARP committee 1940 – 45.
Kelly’s Directory (various) 1917 – 1987.