2 years ago
Clapham South is a daily pilgrimage for commuters on the Northern Line. But the name of the stop could have been something very different.
The amount of jokes that knock around about the number of ‘Clapham’s’ featuring on our tube map are, quite frankly, reasonable. Clapham North, South, Common and Junction make up the confusing family of stops on the underground and overground. But things were almost very different for one of them…
Clapham South was originally named as Nightingale Lane, the road it sits on the corner of. In fact, TFL were so convinced of the original name that, when the station opened in 1926, tube maps were printed with the old name. ‘Nightingale Lane’ is still hidden under the blue panel that now features Clapham South. It’s unclear as to why the name was then changed and confirmed as what we know it as now. Maybe those in power at TLF just liked a joke.
