Last Shuttle from Chesham

The Last day of the Chesham Shuttle card showing a Metropolitan saddle tank engine pulling into Chesham Station.

Today was a day when railway history was marked on the Chesham Branch of the Metropolitan Railway when the last shuttle from Chesham departed after running for 118 years since 1892. Up to today for most of the day a 4-car train operates as a shuttle service to and from Chalfont & Latimer station, on the main line to Amersham and Aylesbury. In February 2009, following a consultation the previous year, Transport for London announced that Chesham would have a regular through service to central London from Sunday 12th December 2010.

The double track line from Rickmansworth to Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) and the single line beyond to Chesham were opened in July 1889. In 1892 the double track was extended from Chalfont Road through Amersham and Great Missenden to Aylesbury, albeit to a temporary terminus in Brook Street as the GWR refused access to its station until 1893. At Aylesbury the line joined the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway which the Metropolitan had acquired in 1891. However this line was not doubled until 1897 when the Metropolitan started to run services from Baker Street to Verney Junction.


The first Metropolitan train at Chesham, July 1889

As I have pointed out before it is probably true to say that there is no Tube Station on London Underground which its community more closely identifies with than this branch line to Chesham. So much so that in 1889 when the railway opened the townspeople raised the funds to have the line built an extra half mile into the centre of town. It meant that this small Buckinghamshire town straddling the valley of the River Chess which gives it its name is directly connected to the West End and City of London; indeed it had its own direct fast trains, the Chesham Flyers, which ran “fast” into the City. Today Chesham has a population of 20,000 and won’t grow any further as it is surrounded by hills which are “Green Belted”, where development is prohibited to maintain green space around London. Indeed, as all the roads into Chesham are steeply sloping there are times in icy winter when the almost 4 miles of the “Chesham Branch” have been its lifeline to the outside world.


Chesham Station

So today at midday an assorted crew of aficionados, local residents, railway enthusiasts and London Underground personalities gathered on the platform at Chesham Station to bid farewell to the shuttle on its last official round trip from Chesham to Chalfont and Latimer. The Chesham Shuttle has been a unique service on this Branch Line and has reinforced the town’s identification with the Underground. Because it has been operated by a small pool of drivers they have a rapport with the residents many of who they know personally. After 118 years the new 8 Car S Stock Trains being introduced in 2011 mean that the 4 car EMU shuttle based on the existing A60 Metropolitan Line Stock is being retired. The new stock consists of 8 connected walk through carriages which cannot be accommodated in the bay at Chalfont and Latimer Station at the other end of the branch. So instead of the shuttle Chesham will have two direct trains an hour into London and Amersham which currently has 6 per hour will reduce to 4 per hour plus the stopping Chiltern Railway services.




The "Last Shuttle" entering Chesham

The current shuttle is designated A60 stock (A for Amersham and 60 representing 1960 their year of planned fleet release). The doorplates on the carriages have the name of their Sheffield manufacturer “Cravens” and the year 1961 but in fact this “1960” stock was only introduced on the Branch in 1962 when sufficient numbers were delivered. These units are the largest trains on the Underground. They are now almost 50 years old and whilst the whole fleet was extensively refurbished in recent years they are operating well beyond their design life, they must have clocked up an incredible mileage.


Interior of A60 Stock


Doorplate on A60 Stock

The new trains which will replace the A60 stock from 2011 are officially called 'S Stock' and they're very different to the Metropolitan's long-serving 1960s workhorses. They will serve around 40 per cent of the Tube network on the sub-surface lines, will have comfort cooling, walk-through carriages with CCTV coverage in each one, plus improved accessibility. The Metropolitan Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines are known as sub-surface lines because underground sections run just below street level rather than in deep level tunnels.


The new London Underground Sub-surface Stock

The front of the new trains is red, with the destination displayed electronically. The doors are red too, with a button on each which looks like it needs to be pressed to gain entrance. But no, the doors pull apart automatically on stopping at each platform, and with a definite swish rather than a clunk. Oh, and there's only one carriage. Technically speaking there are eight, but they're all joined together to create one long articulated snake allowing passengers to walk all the way from one end to the other if they so wish.




S Stock showing inter-carriage connector

Once aboard passengers will be struck by the space. Traditional Metropolitan line carriages are full of places to sit, and these new replacements most definitely aren't. Most of the seats run along the edge, facing away from the windows, and there are only a handful of 4-somes where family groups might choose to locate. Several of the seats flip up to make way for wheelchairs or pushchairs, or to provide additional standing room if things get too crowded. There are only 30 seats in each new carriage, compared to more than 50 in the old, which is a significant reduction of approximately 150 places to sit in each S Stock train. That's not a problem in the centre of town where journeys are brief and crowding is high. But on the commuter run to Amersham, or Uxbridge, or Watford, not having anywhere to sit for up to an hour is going to frustrate hundreds of post-work travellers daily so it will be interesting to see the reaction of the denizens of Chesham to this feature.


The characteristic London Underground Moquette seat covering for the S Stock

Another innovation inside the carriages may be more welcome - scrolling displays which tell you the train's destination, and which station's coming up next, and whether the train's fast, semi-fast or not. Automated voice messages will played too, which customers on the Met have never previously had to experience. The seats have smart new Moquette, covered in regularly-spaced pairs of pink/purple and yellow/green rectangles. But there are no longer any racks on which to stash your briefcase, nor any hooks on which to hang your overcoat. People of Metroland, your new trains are no longer middle class, they're 21st century egalitarian.


S Stock interior

One feature of the new trains which Bozza Johnson has trumpeted but which I would take issue with is “Air Conditioning.” Well the S Stock spec, according to the manufacturers, calls for the ambient temperature inside the carriage to be 2 degrees Celsius less than the external air temperature when in “cooling mode.” So this is more properly described as “Comfort cooling” rather than air conditioning and as it has to be achieved in a box with three double doors opening every 2 minutes in the central area it is particularly wasteful technology. It also adds weight to the trains which is reflected in the motive power usage and extra complexity which will be reflected in maintenance. For these reasons the new stock has the same carbon footprint as the stock it is replacing, not a great leap forward in energy efficiency after 50 years? There is a lot of media hype each year as lazy editors send pup journalists out to do “meltdown on the Tube” stories but this is a short lived problem and mainly on the deep tube lines where trains can not be “air conditioned.” How does “cooling the Tube” compare as an investment priority with the clear legal obligations and moral imperative to make the system more accessible to the 10% of the population who are disabled or mobility impaired? Air conditioning is inherently wasteful technology developed in days of carbon irresponsibility and the world needs to look for better more sustainable low energy solutions – compare the greedy energy use of Dubai, that fallen icon of vulgar conspicuous consumption, with the city of Chandigarh in India designed by Le Corbusier where every building has its climate controlled without the use of air conditioning.


S Stock trial run on Metropolitan Line

Metroland was the term coined by Metropolitan Railway and taken up by the poet Sir John Betjeman to describe the new green suburbs made possible by this railway – indeed he used a speeded up trip on the Chesham Branch for the opening title sequence of his famous documentary. A century ago, the Metropolitan Railway had been extended from a profitable base in central London through the sparsely populated countryside to the north-west of Buckinghamshire, by Sir Edward Watkin, a contentious Victorian entrepreneur. This push through the Chilterns was part of his ambitious scheme to link Manchester by rail to Paris. Although Watkins’s plans failed with his death, a number of the untoward consequences of his actions fortuitously put his successors at the 'Met' in a unique position to exploit the surplus land adjacent to their lines, under the banner of 'Metro-land'.


The driver of the Last Shuttle

This aspirational promotional campaign created the image of an idealistic post-war lifestyle being based upon the concept of affordable housing of an individualistic character, set in pleasant countryside and yet within easy reach of London by the 'Met'. The propagation of the 'Metro-land' brand led to its wide adoption by the media and incorporation in our culture as epitomising a way of life. Indeed, it was so successful that the Met had to embark on a continuing programme of improving capacity to match the resulting growth in commuting. Set in a convenient countryside, these commuters were catered for by a varied and fascinating railway and the estates it created as part of Metro-land, were immortalised by John Betjeman - becoming part of our heritage.


Dr. Clive Foxell CBE

Well there is no better example of this ideal than the country market town of Chesham nestled snugly in a Chilterns valley and connected to the “Big Smoke” by this historic branch. We were fortunate on the last shuttle to have a commentary from Dr. Clive Foxell CBE on the storied history of the branch. Clive is a former MD of BT and author of many railway and history tomes including “Rails to Metroland.” Being born in Harrow, living in Chesham and having started his career as a railway apprentice he is the Sage of Metroland. After the last official shuttle returned to the platform at Chesham from its trip to Chalfont and Latimer a raffle was held for one of the commemorative headboards with the money raised going to the “Railway Children” charity which London Underground supports. The other headboard is fittingly going to the excellent Chesham Museum. Thanks to Angela Back, General Manager, Stuart Burnett, Performance Manager, and all the Metropolitan Line staff who ensured the end of the shuttle after 118 years was properly marked.


Rails to Metroland

As for Chesham from tomorrow they can look forward to the convenience and comfort of quicker direct trains to the West End and the City of London with step free access at Chesham and no awkward change, delay and exposure to the elements at Chalfont and Latimer. And when the swish S Stock is introduced in 2011 they will have a smoother more comfortable trip again. Maybe a new age of Metro-Land dawns?


Memories and photos being shared at Chesham Station


Chesham Museum site;

http://www.cheshammuseum.org.uk/

For more on Metroland see;

http://www.metroland.org.uk/

For more on Chesham and its railway see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/05/chesham-station.html


The shuttle at Chesham Road (now Chalfont & Latimer station) in 1892

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Chesham Station

Chesham Station

The subject of this piece has a connection to the previous one about the first Country House in the Moderne style, High and Over 3 miles away in Amersham-on-the-Hill and Sir John Betjeman’s Metroland as they both featured in that famous documentary. Chesham is at the end of the title sequence for this is where the “Met” train comes to a halt at the end of the opening sequence.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/05/high-and-over-amersham.html

If you're not familiar with the county of Buckinghamshire, it's something of a surprise to arrive at a small country town and find signs for the London Underground - the instantly recognisable roundel, a circle with a line running through it. At Chesham's charming little station you can board a tube train and travel 25 miles (40.2km) to Aldgate in the City of London via places like Finchley Road, Northwood Hills, Wembley Park and Pinner - the heart of Metroland.The Chesham branch of the Metropolitan Line is as far removed from city life as is possible to get on London Underground.


Chesham Town Clock in the Market Square


Chesham High Street

Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as being bordered on one side by Amersham and Chesham Bois. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the tenth century although there is archaeological evidence of people in the area from around 8000 BC. The town is known for its four Bs, usually quoted as:- boots, beer, brushes and Baptists, . Chesham's prosperity grew significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries with the development of manufacturing industry. Chesham Building Society, the oldest such society in the world opened for business in 1845.




Along the platform

It is probably true to say that there is no Tube Station on London Underground which its community more closely identifies with for the people of Chesham raised the funds to have the station built into the centre of town. It means that this small Buckinghamshire town straddling the valley of the River Chess which gives it its name is directly connected to the West End and City of London; indeed it has its own direct fast trains, the Chesham Flyers, which run “fast” into the City. Today Chesham has a population of 20,000 and won’t grow any further as it is surrounded by hills which are “Green Belted”, where development is prohibited to maintain green space around London. Indeed, as all the roads into Chesham are steeply sloping there are times in icy winter when the almost 4 miles of the “Chesham Branch” have been its lifeline to the outside world.


Chesham Shuttle formed of 4 carriages of Metroplitan A Stock

The line to Chesham was for a while the terminus of the Metropolitan Railway. When the Met pushed out from Harrow and Rickmansworth in the 1880s, Chesham was the destination. There were proposals to link on from Chesham to the main London Euston to Birmingham line around the Tring area. Indeed, some land north of Chesham station was acquired for this purpose. I wonder if Watkin the then Chairman of the Met had a wry smile to himself when the people of Chesham actually raised funds to locate the station in a more central location as opposed to the proposed station in the Waterside area. If Watkin already had plans to extend beyond Chesham, he must have been delighted to receive the funds from the good folk of Chesham to extend the railway to central Chesham. The line from Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) was single track, it being double up to Chalfont. When the main line was diverted through Amersham to Aylesbury, the line to Chesham became a branch line.


London Underground's Metropolitan Line today Click for a larger image

Chesham lies at the end of a branch of the Metropolitan Line, which opened in 1889. Together with nearby Amersham, it's one of London Underground's furthest outposts. Work began on extending what was then known as the St John's Wood Line beyond central London during the latter years of the 19th century. By the mid-1880s the railway had become known as the Metropolitan, running 17½ miles (28km) from Baker Street. The plan was to continue the line all the way to Aylesbury, but financial problems restricted its extension at that time to Chesham. Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is situated 25 miles (40.2km) North West of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London Underground network (using Charing Cross as a central point). It is also both the northernmost and westernmost London Underground Station. Chesham replaced Ongar as the farthest station when the latter closed in 1994.


The Ticket Hall

Most of the land for the new sections of railway was acquired from the Duke of Bedford and Lord Chesham, but the land for the final half mile (800m) of the Chesham branch was presented to the railway by local residents to enable a station to be built in the centre of the town instead of on the outskirts, as was originally planned. In May 1889 the people of Chesham were invited to inspect the branch and afterwards entertained to a banquet. Seven weeks later, the line from Rickmansworth to Chesham was opened. For the next three years, until the main line from Chalfont and Latimer Station to Amersham and Aylesbury was opened in 1892, Chesham was the Metropolitan's most northerly terminus.


Chesham Signal Box

There were many plans to link the Town of Chesham with the railway network, including a branch by the LNWR off the main London to Birmingham line from Tring, but all these come to nothing. So it was left Edward Watkin, Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway to deliver the rail connection which the town needed. It also built a branch to Chesham in 1889 an important destination in its own right as well as aiming at an eventual link to the LNWR at Tring. Because of the plans for extension the station and the presence of the goods yard, Chesham used to have no fewer than three tracks (though only two platforms) and all three tracks remained well into the seventies (long after the yard was closed) as rather useless sidings. This three track layout may be clearly seen (in the early seventies) at the end of the opening credits of Metroland. Today there is only one platform and one track, the empty space that used to be platform one has now become a floral display.


Metropolitan Railway tank loco at Chesham

There is no station starter signal at Chesham. A set of co-acting signals are at the start of the Chesham branch. One theory [as to their installation] is that they replaced the single line token and this means only one train at a time is allowed on the Branch. The branch has no intermediate stations and has the longest distance between adjacent stations on the network at 3.89 miles (6.26 km). Chesham station is the least used station on the Metropolitan Line at 429,000 passengers per annum. It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge. Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is situated 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London.


The Shuttle on the Branch

Chesham takes an inordinate pride in the “Chesham Flyers.” There are two 8-car through trains to Aldgate (during the morning rush hour) and two returning through trains in the evening rush hour but for most of the day a 4-car train operates as a shuttle service to and from Chalfont & Latimer station, on the main line to Amersham and Aylesbury. In February 2009, following a consultation the previous year, Transport for London announced that Chesham would have a regular through service to central London from 2011.

When steam was replaced on the Branch the then new A60 stock formed the rolling stock for the line (although other electric stock made an appearance in the early days of the electric service). A four car unit was used to form the shuttle to and from Chalfont. A new bay platform was built at Chesham to allow the shuttle train to be at Chesham when a through 8 car service was operating in the rush hour. This bay platform has been removed which means that if the through trains are late, the shuttle has to wait at Chalfont for the line to clear.


Leaving Chesham

Today the approach to Chesham is up from the High Street along an unprepossessing Station Road. The station buildings are small with a bench in the sheltered ticket hall and toilets and a bicycle store for commuters. London Underground’s obsession with “Capital” projects rather than staffing can be garnered from this short single platform boasting no less than 11 CCTV cameras. Whilst the station staffing hours are limited the shuttle drivers know many of the locals and have a definite bond with the line and the town. Indeed the friendly driver that day offered me a cab ride down to Chalfont and Latimer which unfortunately I couldn’t take up.

There are many relics of days gone by looking around the station. There are the derelict sandbox buffers on the abandoned bay siding, the water tank recalling when the steam trains filled up here and for a station without signals a very splendid “signal box.” But the eye is drawn down the track to the throat out of the station under a bridge and disappearing around the curve and this holds the secret of Chesham, a charming small town which is good to live in and grow up in connected to the “Big Smoke” by this unique, special, historic and still essential branch line.

Ride on Sarah!

Sarah Siddons

Sarah Siddons (5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was the most famous female actress in Georgian Britain and was the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. She was most famous for her portrayal of the Shakespearean character: Lady Macbeth, a character she made her own. In private life Siddons enjoyed the friendship and respect of many of the most eminent persons of her time. Horace Walpole at first refused to join the fashionable chorus of her praise, but he was ultimately won over. Samuel Johnson wrote his name on the hem of her garment in the famous picture of the actress as the Tragic Muse by Reynolds (now in the Dulwich Gallery). "I would not lose", he said, "the honour this opportunity afforded to me for my name going down to posterity on the hem of your garment." Siddons died in London on the 8th of June 1831, and was buried in Paddington churchyard. This is now Paddington Green and located on the south side, facing the Marylebone flyover is the statue of Sarah Siddons, by Chevaliand, which was erected in 1897, as she lived in the neighbourhood when Paddington was still rural.


Paddington Green

Her house, where she gave private readings, once stood on what is now the top of Baker Street in London at the side of the Metropolitan Line’s Baker Street Station and was in fact demolished by the railway in 1928 when Baker Street was extended as far as the Outer Circle of Regents Park. The railway must have felt guilty about this act of vandalism because they erected a plaque on the site and named the electric locomotive after her which is today the last operating electric locomotive of this series.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html

Sarah Siddons, the oldest working main line electric locomotive in Britain will make special trips between Harrow-on-the-Hill, via Rickmansworth to Amersham on Sunday 17 May as part of the Rickmansworth Festival. Engine no. 12, Sarah Siddons, was built in 1922 and is the last operational Metropolitan Railway electric locomotive; the only surviving working engine out of 20 built by Metropolitan Vickers and mostly named after people associated with the area served by the Metropolitan Railway. The engines had a top speed of 65 miles per hour.



Sarah will pull carriages dating back to the 1950s and is making four special trips. Adult tickets cost £20.00 and they're only £3.00 for children. However, the first journey is £25.00 as it travels via Watford and the north curve.

A vintage bus service including the Museum's prototype Routemaster bus RM1 will run from Rickmansworth station to the Rickmansworth Festival site at Batchworth Lock.

You can book tickets on this link;

https://ticket.ltmuseum.co.uk/peo/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=65

or by phone on 020 7565 7298.

Rickmansworth is known as the “Gateway to the Chilterns” and is the lynch pin of “Metroland” – the land developed by the Metropolitan Railway to finance its expansion into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One notable claim to fame is its inclusion on the opening page of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Colloquially Rickmansworth is often shortened to "Ricky" as used in the town's annual "Ricky Week" celebrations. The town's canal history (It is on the Grand Union Canal) is remembered every year at the end of Ricky Week with the Rickmansworth Festival.

Rickmansworth also has a famous frost hollow caused by the Metropolitan Railway. This is caused by the local geography, notably the railway embankment which prevents the natural drainage of cold air from a specific part of the valley. Rickmansworth recorded the largest daily temperature range in England when, on 29th August 1936, the temperature climbed from 1.1°C at dawn to 24.9°C within 9 hours due to this unique geographic feature.

The Rickmansworth Festival takes place on the third weekend of May every year and celebrates canals, the community and the environment. Now going for over fifteen years, it is the highlight of the town’s annual calendar and finale of Rickmansworth Week.



The top attraction for many is the wonderful array of canal boats from across the country - a unique spectacle moored along the towpath up to four deep. The Rickmansworth Festival started as purely a canal based festival in 1993, initially as part of the British Waterways "Canals 200" celebration that year. The first event used Rickmansworth Aquadrome as the main location for land activities, although in following years a much smaller festival centred upon Batchworth Lock.

An Environment Fair organised by Three Rivers District Council, held separately in the Aquadrome, was incorporated about six years ago. The festival then outgrew Batchworth Lock, once again moving into the Aquadrome to provide extra space and a wider community focus. Entertainment also increased to offer three live music stages at the Aquadrome, Batchworth Lock and in the on-site beer tent (acoustic only), which are dedicated particularly to allowing young musicians to perform.



There will be a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire on the Saturday afternoon, weather permitting. There will also be a Metropolitan Line Heritage Train running between Harrow, Rickmansworth and Amersham on Sunday with vintage bus service from Rickmansworth station to Batchworth lock.

http://www.rwt.org.uk/festival.html

One of the permanent exhibits on the canal is Roger who was once a working narrow boat on the Grand Union Canal between London and the Midlands, delivering mainly coal to factories along the route. The eventual demise of commercial trade led to Roger unloved and in poor repair. Liable to sink at any moment, he was rescued and lovingly restored to his former glory by the Rickmansworth Waterways Trust. Now Roger is back and part of activities to educate a new generation in canal history.


Batchworth Lock

Roger had a long and varied career as a working boat on the Grand Union Canal since Bushell Brothers of Tring built him in 1936. He took his cargo whenever it was needed – mainly coal – to many a factory along the route between London and the Midlands.

One of Roger’s jobs was to deliver coal from Coventry to John Dickinson’s paper mill next to the Grand Union at Croxley – at the time the largest in Europe. This work came under the stewardship of canal commerce stalwarts Arthur Bray, his wife Rose and her son Ernie Kendal. Roger carried 20 tons of coal for the 86 hour round trip, his "buddy" (butty) boat Raymond taking a further 30 tons. On arrival at the mill, the Brays unloaded their cargo from both boats hand by hand and earned at most £16 for their efforts.

Both boats later carried coal from Coventry to a jam making factory in Southall, a 240 mile round trip with more than 200 locks to pass through! Loading, travel and unloading took a full seven days. The competition on this trip was fierce and only one boat could load or unload at any one time. So it was important to arrive first and avoid hanging around – because crews were paid only for the tons of coal they were able to deliver.


Roger - First on right

Work gradually declined throughout the 1960's as ownership of Roger changed. He ended his working life when, worn out, he was replaced on the "Jam ‘Ole" run in 1968 by the Nutfield. The factory itself struggled and soon disappeared leading to the eventual demise in 1970 of the company Blue Line that now operated the boats. By the early 1990s, Roger found himself unloved and in poor repair in a pit beside the canal at Maple Cross. Liable to sink at any moment, Rickmansworth Waterways Trust stepped in to save the day.


Sarah Siddons Cab

For the serious anoraks amongst my Blogistas here are the names of the Metropolitan Electric Locomotives of which Sarah is the last working survivor;

No 1 John Lyon - Named after the Founder of Harrow School

No 2 Oliver Cromwell - Original name for No 2 - Lord Protector and Father of today's Parliamentary system

No 2 Thomas Lord - the only Met Loco to be renamed - Founder of Lords Cricket Ground.

No 3 Sir Ralph Verney - Involved in Railways being built and Verney Junction is named after him;

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/claydon-house-buckinghamshire.html

No 4 Lord Byron - Poet was sent to Harrow School

No 5 John Hampden - M.P... for Wendover

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/wendover-buckinghamshire.html

No 6 William Penn - Lived near Amersham imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/poems-on-underground.html

No 7 Edmund Burke - M.P. For Wendover.

No 8 Sherlock Holmes - Fictional Detective based at Baker Street near the Mets HQ

No 9 John Milton - Poet lived Chalfont St Giles.

See; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/surly-republican.html

No 10 William Ewart Gladstone - Prime Minister; Took part in the first trip of the Metropolitan railway on the 24th May 1862

No 11 George Romney - Artist specialising in portrait painting.

No 12 Sarah Siddons - Actress sometimes gave private readings at Baker Street



No13 Dick Whittington - Lord Mayor of London

No 14 Benjamin Disraeli - Tory M.P.

No 15 Wembley - Named after the British Empire Exhibition 1924

No 16 Oliver Goldsmith - Well known Novelist

No 17 Florence Nightingale - Nurse during Crimean War whose sister married Lord Verney.

No 18 Michael Faraday - Involved in research that helped develop the electric railway as we know today

No 19 John Wycliffe - A Religious Reformer no link to London or the Met

No 20 Sir Christopher Wren - Involved with the rebuilding of the city of London