Going underground: WWII bunker in Clapham to open for tours

A Clapham shelter is set to become a new attraction
Take shelter: Soon you'll be able to visit this bunker beneath Clapham
Jack Dearlove
Ben Norum22 December 2015

TfL has secured planning permission to open up a WWII bunker beneath Clapham for regular tours, reports finger-on-the-pulse London blog Ian Visits.

The underground shelter was dug during the war to shelter civiliansfrom the Blitz and can be accessed via a surface building — known as the rotunda — near Clapham Common station.

This building will be turned into a café as part of the new plans, while the bunkers beneath it will be used for an exhibition about the history of the tunnels as well as for regular Hidden London tours run by the London Transport Museum.

It is thought construction work could start around the middle of 2016.

An artist’s impression of how the development could look TfL
TfL

Whereas the tunnels have opened for limited access on several occasions in the past — we visited and took the photo at the top — it has never before been open regularly to the wider public.

The secret world beneath London's streets

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This isn’t the only underground space being put to good use in London. Nearby tunnels beneath Clapham High Street are being used for underground farm Growing Underground, while a bunker by the Gherkin will become a new bar and crazy golf hub as of spring.

A shelter beneath Soho Square is also in the offing to be transformed into a new subterranean restaurant or bar.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum
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