Clapham High Street Station (CLP)

Address: Edgeley Road, Clapham, London SW4 6EU
Opened: 25 August 1862
Station Code: CLP
Fare Zone: 2

London Overground Line(s) Served:

East London Line

Service Pattern(s):

4 trains per hour to Dalston Junction
4 trains per hour to Clapham Junction

Interchange(s)

OSI: Clapham North (London Underground Northern Line) – 170 Metres

Station History

Clapham station was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway on their new line from Victoria to Herne Hill on 25th August 1862.

Renaming of the station to Clapham and North Stockwell in May 1863. Also in this year, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway received an Act of Parliament to construct their South London Line through the area.

The South London Line was constructed in the following three years and additional platforms were built at the station, finally opening on 1st May 1867 with the LC&DR leasing the two running lines to the LB&SCR.

In 1899 the London, Chatham & Dover was amalgamated with other companies to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, with services being run by the new entity.

The LB&SCR had received Royal Assent for the electrification of its entire network in 1903, with the South London Line being the first recipient of overhead wires and the system was installed here in 1909, however the SE&CR Lines remained steam operated.

South Eastern and Chatham Railway services lasted until 3rd April 1916 when the SE&CR withdrew from the station and the three platforms dating from 1866 were closed, finally being demolished in the late 1920s.

With the passing of The Railways Act 1921, LB&SCR and SE&CR were amalgamated with other railways to form the Southern Railway on 1st January 1923.

Under the new company, electrification works were carried out on the former SE&CR lines, going live in 1925. This was followed on 9th August 1926 with the announcement that the overhead electrification of the South London Line would be converted to third rail. The conversion works were carried out and the first train ran on 30th September 1929.

Renaming occurred again in 1937 with the station reverting to Clapham. During World War II the eastbound platform station buildings were destroyed by a German air raid in 1944.

Nationalisation of the railways due to the Transport Act 1947 saw Southern Railway services become British Railways Southern Region on 1st January 1948.

The original 1886-built LC&DR Station building which had been partially demolished in 1924 when the additional platforms were removed was finally completely removed by British Rail in the 1970s. This led to the station platforms being accessed via a subway.

As a result of sectorisation, the former Southern Region services were assumed by the London & Southeast business sector in 1982, becoming Network Southeast in 1986. Three years later the station became Clapham High Street to avoid confusion with Clapham Junction.

Privatisation of the Railways following the Railways Act 1993 saw the station and its lines franchised to Connex, who operated them under their South Central subsidiary. A further management change occurred on 26th August 2001, when the new franchisee of the line Govia bought out the remaining two years of the Connex agreement to assume services early.

The final chapter in the station’s history thus far came on the 8th December 2012 when the final Southern service on the South London Line ran. The following day, services were commenced by London Overground between Dalston Junction and Clapham Junction via Surrey Quays.