Stranger Things No.3 The Camden Catacombs
Part of London’s Underground History
The famous tourist magnet that we know as Camden Lock lies on the top of ground where horses and machines once worked side-by-side. The not-so-well-known Camden Catacombs extend under the Euston mainline and as far as the goods yard at Primrose Hill and are made up of a web of vaults and subterranean tunnels. Built by Robert Stephenson, the ‘Camden Catacombs’ are actually an underground network of passageways and engine vaults. Back in the mists of time tunnels from the Roundhouse to the Regent’s Canal were a safe walkway for the horses working in the station that were employed to shunt the trains around the yards. A system of underground wheels and pulleys in the engine vaults would also power the tracks, heaving the heavy steam engines from Euston up to Camden Town by rope.
Today visitors to Camden are unable to go underground, as the tunnels, still owned by British Rail, are deemed unsafe because of the risk of flooding. However, the extent of the tunnels can be gauged by anyone walking through Camden and plotting the many cast iron grills set into the road. These used provide the ‘pit ponies’ and their handlers with the modicum of natural light and ventilation.
Lovers of history can still visit the Camden Stables Market, which was once home to the many horses that worked beneath the pavements. They can also catch a small glimpse of the past in the old Victorian brick arches of 1854, which run under the North Western Railway Company sidings. The listed building of the Horse Hospital can still be found which as the name suggests used to look after the injured animals hurt in the line of duty.
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