WWII London Air-Raid Shelter Unveiled: Join a Guided Tour and Dine Underground

War feels both distant and close to our younger generation. We’ve all heard our grandparents talk about the “three years and eight months,” but even many of us might not know what an air-raid shelter looks like. Transport for London and the London Transport Museum have jointly opened to the public a WWII air-raid shelter located beneath Clapham Common in the district of Clapham South.

This air-raid shelter was reportedly built in 1940 and is the best-preserved among the eight such shelters from that era. Even the bunk beds and signage remain intact. This is all thanks to the efforts of the British back then, who spent nearly eight months constructing this shelter—comprising 1,300 interconnected tunnels—100 feet (about 31 meters) underground, without the aid of any modern machinery. The shelter could accommodate over 8,000 people at once.

In fact, this shelter was once used as military barracks, a shelter for new immigrants, and even briefly transformed into the Festival Hotel. Unfortunately, due to its sealed design, it was repurposed as an archive storage facility in the 1990s. Today, its value has been rediscovered, and it is being developed into a new tourist attraction.

The authorities have decided to open guided walking tours on an irregular basis, with ticket sales starting in March. To generate income for its preservation, the roundhouse section will be converted into a restaurant called the Blitz Tea Rooms, with construction expected to begin in the middle of the year. For war or history enthusiasts, this tour is definitely something to look forward to. Check out the details on the London Transport Museum’s official website: [URL]www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/hidden-london/clapham-south

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