| Summary : Kennington Station was opened by the City and South London Railway on 18th December 1890 as an intermediate station on the line between Stockwell and King William Street. It was both the first standard gauge tube and the first railway to employ electric traction in London. To avoid disturbance of surface buildings the tube was shield-driven at deep level, and much of the work was done via shafts at station sites which later contained the passenger lifts. The intermediate station at Kennington (then Kennington New Street) was designed by Thomas Phillips Figgis with elements of early Arts and Crafts and neo-classical detailing. The structure was made distinctive by a lead-covered dome with cupola lantern and weathervane which housed some of the lift equipment; the main part of the building was of red brick. |