Aldwych station was open in 1907. The line was originally part of the Piccadilly line. With being so close to many West End theatres, it gained the unofficial title of the Theatre Line. Aldwych station itself was built on the site of an old London theatre - the Royal Strand. During the Second World War the line was closed and the tunnels used as an air raid shelter and to store various national treasures from the British Museum, including the Elgin Marbles. On 30th September 1994 the line was closed because the cost of refurbishing the lifts at the station could not be justified. However, the line lives on and is used by TV and film companies as a working set of an underground station. At street level much of the original station can now be seen.
The ghost who haunts Aldwych station has been seen on the tracks at night by staff who clean the tunnels and stations. They believe it is the ghost of an actress coming back for another curtain call as Aldywch was built on the site of the old Royal Strand Theatre. |
