Watford Metropolitan Underground station

Watford tube station.

Before we get started... I know that Watford is not in London. But, neither is Warner Bros Studios Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter. Nor are Gatwick, Southend, Stansted or Luton Airports, but they all have London in their name. There are countless more examples of this.

However, Watford is served by National Rail, the Lioness line and the Metropolitan line. It is also the station from where the majority of my trips to London begin.

So let's delve into its history.

Two different types of train at Platform 2.

By the early part of the 20th century, the Metropolitan line had already extended from London, through Hertfordshire, to Buckinghamshire, terminating at Verney Junction, Buckinghamshire.

In 1912 Parliamentary approval was granted for a branch line, between Sandy Lodge and Rickmansworth, that would serve Croxley and terminate at Watford.

However, clashes with Watford Borough Council and the outbreak of World War I delayed construction of the 2.5 mile branch line, with work finally beginning in 1922. As work progressed Sandy Lodge was renamed Moor Park and Sandy Lodge.

On November 2, 1925, Watford Metropolitan Railway station opened, and, in the first few months, was served by Metropolitan electric trains, to Baker Street, and LNER steam trains to Marylebone.

As the station was situated 1 mile from Watford Town Centre, the Metropolitan Railway operated a bus service from Watford High Street, in an effort to bring in more customers. This bus service ran for many years.

Celebrating 'Steam on the Met'.

The original 1912 plans, for the branch line, were to have continued the line through Cassiobury Park with a terminus on Hempstead Road, where West Herts College now stands. But, Watford Borough Council, having just bought part of the Cassiobury Estate, objected to trains running through the park and gardens.

23-24 Leinster Gardens (False Houses)

A real house (left) and a fake house (right).

Leinster Gardens, Bayswater, is a wonderful place to find mid-Victorian terraced houses, lining the majority of one side of the road. Some of these buildings are listed as Grade II or Grade II*, including the 'Leinster Arms' public house.

However, midway along the western side there are some false houses, which are barely distinguishable from the other homes along the street. It is not until you get up close to them that these false facades are more noticeable.

Unlike the homes either side of numbers 23-24, these buildings have fake doors with no letter boxes and the windows are painted a grey colour. 

The facades match perfectly with the rest of the terrace, including balustraded balconies, above columned porches, that are shared with their neighbours.

Metropolitan line

Metropolitan 1 steam locomotive, celebrating 150 years of the Met line, in 2018.

Living in Watford, which is the largest town in Hertfordshire, I have access to excellent transport links to London, as well as other areas of the country. Just 16 miles from Central London I have a choice of National Rail, London Overground services or Transport for London's Metropolitan line service. It is the latter that I invariably use.

Trains at Watford Metropolitan station awaiting the morning rush hour.

The Metropolitan line station is just a 15 minute walk from my home and will get me to central London in just 40 minutes. I can also change to a different line like the Jubilee, while enroute, and end up in east London in a little over an hour.

Watford Metropolitan station decorated in celebration of 150 years.

As this is the line that I most commonly use, and it being the first of its kind in the world, I thought I would do a blog about its history.