Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Unbuilt London - Archive Articles

Unbuilt London: The Battersea Bullet train
Unbuilt London: The Battersea Bullet train

Unbuilt London: The Battersea Bullet train

In the late 1980s, there were plans to turn the empty hulk of Battersea Power Station into a huge theme park, and it was to come with its own high-speed rail link - the Battersea Bullet.

Apr
20
2022
Unbuilt London: The Edgware Road and Victoria railway
Unbuilt London: The Edgware Road and Victoria railway

Unbuilt London: The Edgware Road and Victoria railway

Had it been built, there would today be a tube line running between Victoria station and Kilburn, and could have altered the route of the Jubilee line.

Feb
08
2022
The unbuilt plans for hotels above South Kensington tube station
The unbuilt plans for hotels above South Kensington tube station

The unbuilt plans for hotels above South Kensington tube station

How different would South Kensington tube station look today if the previous plans for hotels and shopping centres had gone ahead?

Dec
21
2021
Unbuilt London: Biota! – the East London aquarium
Unbuilt London: Biota! – the East London aquarium

Unbuilt London: Biota! – the East London aquarium

Not that many years ago, and already largely forgotten, there was a plan for a huge aquarium, Biota!, to be built next to the Millennium Mills in Docklands.

Mar
11
2021
Unbuilt London: The Eurostar terminus at White City
Unbuilt London: The Eurostar terminus at White City

Unbuilt London: The Eurostar terminus at White City

Eurostar trains are based at the wonderfully restored St Pancras station close to central London, but they nearly ended up in West London, at White City.

Jan
26
2021
Unbuilt London: Demolish Downing Street
Unbuilt London: Demolish Downing Street

Unbuilt London: Demolish Downing Street

Not an anti-government protest slogan, but plans from 1854 to demolish most of the western side of Whitehall and replace it with a grand monolithic building.

Dec
02
2020
Unbuilt London: The Berkely Square road tunnel
Unbuilt London: The Berkely Square road tunnel

Unbuilt London: The Berkely Square road tunnel

Road traffic trying to go north/south in Mayfair has to cross the busy east/west Piccadilly road - so why not bury it in a road tunnel?

Oct
29
2020
Unbuilt London: Diverting the Thames through South London
Unbuilt London: Diverting the Thames through South London

Unbuilt London: Diverting the Thames through South London

The River Thames flows through a very expensive part of London, so wouldn’t it make more sense to divert it somewhere cheap — like South London, and then make better use of the land in central London? That was the

Oct
14
2020
Unbuilt London: London and Westminster Improved
Unbuilt London: London and Westminster Improved

Unbuilt London: London and Westminster Improved

In 1766, a plan was published for the improvements of London and Westminster that could have resulted in Trafalgar Square as we know it today looking rather more like Leicester Square.

Aug
19
2020
Unbuilt London: The new Buckingham Palace
Unbuilt London: The new Buckingham Palace

Unbuilt London: The new Buckingham Palace

It's 1910, the British Empire is at its height and people are starting to think that Buckingham Palace is rather shabby for an Imperial capital.

Jun
24
2020
Unbuilt London: A gothic iron bridge across the Thames
Unbuilt London: A gothic iron bridge across the Thames

Unbuilt London: A gothic iron bridge across the Thames

Imagine a gothic bridge with turrets crossing the Thames at Lambeth, but made from iron. That was the proposal back in 1847, to replace the ferry that had long operated in this part of the Thames.

Jun
10
2020
Unbuilt London: Elizabeth House, Waterloo
Unbuilt London: Elizabeth House, Waterloo

Unbuilt London: Elizabeth House, Waterloo

A futuristic arch that would have sliced into the skyline, dominating from some sides, and being almost invisible from others.

Jun
04
2020
Unbuilt London: The Waterloo monument
Unbuilt London: The Waterloo monument

Unbuilt London: The Waterloo monument

London is full of monuments to wars and battles, but one is conspicuous by it's absence, Waterloo - but there was a plan for a triumphal arch in central London.

May
13
2020
Unbuilt London: Brutalist Whitehall
Unbuilt London: Brutalist Whitehall

Unbuilt London: Brutalist Whitehall

Whitehall, the heart of government is lined mostly with grand Victorian and Edwardian buildings, but it nearly looked like the Southbank - lots of concrete.

May
06
2020
Unbuilt London: Covering Regents Park with housing
Unbuilt London: Covering Regents Park with housing

Unbuilt London: Covering Regents Park with housing

Although Regents Park is today a large open space surrounded by grand housing, it very nearly didn't even exist.

Apr
21
2020
Unbuilt London: Replacing Tower Bridge with a tunnel
Unbuilt London: Replacing Tower Bridge with a tunnel

Unbuilt London: Replacing Tower Bridge with a tunnel

Considering how iconic Tower Bridge is as a symbol of London, it's difficult to believe that just 50 years ago there were plans to replace it with a tunnel.

Apr
08
2020
Unbuilt London: The “railway arcade” above the streets
Unbuilt London: The “railway arcade” above the streets

Unbuilt London: The “railway arcade” above the streets

Imagine if you will of streets lined with decorative arcades that protected Victorians from the weather and above their heads, a marvel of the age - a silent railway without steam.

Aug
05
2018
Unbuilt London: The Southwark Railway Terminus
Unbuilt London: The Southwark Railway Terminus

Unbuilt London: The Southwark Railway Terminus

A scheme once proposed replacing five railway stations in central London with one giant terminus in Southwark.

Jun
23
2018
Unbuilt London: The “figure of eight” tube line
Unbuilt London: The “figure of eight” tube line

Unbuilt London: The “figure of eight” tube line

There should be a major junction under Oxford Circus acting as the centre point of a large double-loop tube line, had plans shown off in 1988 gone ahead.

Apr
14
2018
Unbuilt London: The Legal Quays at London Bridge
Unbuilt London: The Legal Quays at London Bridge

Unbuilt London: The Legal Quays at London Bridge

Just over 200 years ago, a plan was presented to Parliament that could have seen a large section of the City between London Bridge and the Tower of London turned into a series of large docks.

Mar
11
2018
Unbuilt London: Heathrow’s rail links to central London
Unbuilt London: Heathrow’s rail links to central London

Unbuilt London: Heathrow’s rail links to central London

Although Heathrow Airport has a couple of railway links to central London, they weren't necessarily the ones that we could have ended up with.

Feb
25
2018
Unbuilt London: The MARS plan to rebuild the entire of London
Unbuilt London: The MARS plan to rebuild the entire of London

Unbuilt London: The MARS plan to rebuild the entire of London

In the inter-war years, there was a war between two rival camps for urban planning, the high-density housing with lots of communal space, or low-density with lots of private space.

Jan
26
2018
Unbuilt London: Croydon trams extension to Crystal Palace
Unbuilt London: Croydon trams extension to Crystal Palace

Unbuilt London: Croydon trams extension to Crystal Palace

The South London trams snake around the region offering a convenient east-west link, but once could have also been extended to just outside the former Crystal Palace.

Oct
21
2017
Unbuilt London: The 1,000 Foot Tall Glass Conference Centre
Unbuilt London: The 1,000 Foot Tall Glass Conference Centre

Unbuilt London: The 1,000 Foot Tall Glass Conference Centre

In the 1960s, King's Cross almost became more famous for a massive glass tower than it was for its nocturnal delights in the seedy bars.

Jul
22
2017