Deep beneath London
In the decades following World War II, a group of post office and telecoms workers utilized the tunnel complex as their workplace. Certain aspects of this usage have endured over time.
At the Chancery Lane station of the London Underground, there exists a locked door on the eastbound platform. This unassuming, sturdy, white door conceals a hidden secret. Behind it lies a wide set of stairs, leading to a sprawling maze of tunnels stretching roughly a mile in length. Constructed in the 1940s, these tunnels were initially intended to serve as a shelter during World War II. However, they later found use in espionage activities, the storage of 400 tons of government documents, and telecommunications services.
Welcome to the Kingsway Exchange tunnels, located approximately 100 feet below street level in the heart of London, sprawling beneath the Central Line of the Underground. These tunnels may soon embark on a new chapter: Angus Murray, the current owner of the complex, who acquired the tunnels last summer, has submitted a planning permission application to local authorities. Teaming up with the architecture firm WilkinsonEyre, the proposal aims to transform the tunnels into a tourist destination capable of accommodating millions of visitors each year.
Murray’s London Tunnels intends to allocate a total of £220 million (approximately $275 million) towards the restoration and preservation of the tunnels, along with integrating technology for art installations and other attractions. Murray envisions opening the complex to the public in 2027, with plans to host temporary art exhibitions, fashion shows, and various other events.
Currently, accessing the tunnels involves taking a small elevator discreetly positioned behind a side door within an alleyway off a prominent street in central London. However, Murray mentioned that visitors to the attraction would utilize a separate, larger entrance.
Upon stepping out of the elevator, visitors find themselves in a World War II-era tunnel. These tunnels were part of a network of 10 civilian shelters proposed by the British government following the onset of the Blitz, an eight-month bombing campaign by the Germans targeting London, which commenced in September 1940. Despite the plans, the tunnels were never utilized as shelters. By the time they were completed in 1942, the Blitz had come to an end.
During the Cold War era, the British government tasked its telephone department, which later evolved into British Telecom, with establishing a clandestine communications system within the tunnels capable of enduring a nuclear attack. According to the project’s website, the complex housed the famous hotline connecting the Kremlin and the White House. Remarkably, certain equipment from the phone exchange in the tunnels remains intact to this day, despite having fallen out of use since at least the 1980s.
