B/W print; View of construction work on the Metropolitan Railway near King's Cross, circa 1860
Main details
| Reference number | 1998/75683 |
|---|---|
| Description | View of construction work on the Metropolitan Railway near King's Cross. Navvies can be seen working on the sides of a cutting that has been dug in the roadway; the work area is surrounded by a wooden fence. Three horses buses are visible amongst the traffic. The tall building with weathervane, background right, is probably King's Cross main line station. |
| Photographer | |
| Dates | circa 1860 |
| Collection | |
| Object type |
|
| Photograph number | 3487/1 |
| Location | |
| Topics | |
| Completeness | 68% |
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Physical description
Dimensions Attribute Value Descriptive size 8x6insItem content Attribute Value Text On building: York House
On building: Read
On building: Wilkins
On building: Victoria Hotel
On building: Original Great Northern Coffee House
On building: Bread & Biscuit BakerDesign Attribute Value Shot Medium exterior -
People involved
Role Person(s) involved Photographer unknown, circa 1860Copied by Colin Tait, 1974Colin Tait, 1983
More about the construction of the Underground
London’s population was about 1.7 million when Queen Victoria was crowned in 1837. Mainline railways in the 1840s and 1850s brought even more people into the Capital. Traffic congestion was reaching crisis point and radical solutions were needed. Read more about public transport in Victorian London – underground
The Metropolitan line is the oldest underground railway in the world. The Metropolitan Railway opened in January 1863 and was an immediate success, though its construction took nearly two years and caused huge disruption in the streets. Read more about the Metropolitan line.
The world’s first underground railway opened in London in 1863, as a way of reducing street congestion. Here is a very short history of the Underground.
