Heading across the viaduct, Charing Cross side of London Bridge
Station, one can see down to where they appear to have dug up Railway
Approach.

Four parallel arch or tunnel roofs seem to have been revealed just
below the surface.

Is this part of some former station structure, or is there some other
system of vaults below the road? Was this area part of a built-up
embankment, similar to the one on the other side of the river?

On Apr 14, 3:45*pm, MIG wrote:
Heading across the viaduct, Charing Cross side of London Bridge
Station, one can see down to where they appear to have dug up Railway
Approach.

Four parallel arch or tunnel roofs seem to have been revealed just
below the surface.

Is this part of some former station structure, or is there some other
system of vaults below the road? *Was this area part of a built-up
embankment, similar to the one on the other side of the river?

I don't know any details, but I would have to assume that it's a part
of the station's overall structure - the roadway immediately outside
the station (that which hosts the bus station) is (or in this case
was) obviously artificially raised up. Providing vaults for whatever
uses beneath the roadway is an obvious way of making use of that
space.

As a complete aside, and one that's probably only of fleeting interest
to utl-ers, Railway Approach - when it still existed - didn't have any
parking restrictions on it at all. There wasn't space for much
parking, I never saw any free spaces during the daytime, and I have my
suspicions that one might not have been welcomed with open arms by the
regulars if one did attempt to park there, but it struck me as perhaps
being one of the most central of London streets that didn't have any
official restrictions on parking.

In message
, MIG
writes

Heading across the viaduct, Charing Cross side of London Bridge
Station, one can see down to where they appear to have dug up Railway
Approach.

Four parallel arch or tunnel roofs seem to have been revealed just
below the surface.

Is this part of some former station structure, or is there some other
system of vaults below the road? Was this area part of a built-up
embankment, similar to the one on the other side of the river?

Could the arches have supported the horse ramp to the original London &
Greenwich terminus (bearing in mind that the ground level in the area
has risen progressively over the years? If so, they would be of great
archaeological interest. You can see the upper end of this ramp at:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ge_viaduct.JPG

The other possibility is that they could be part of the foundations of
St Thomas's Hospital, before it was rebuilt next to Westminster Bridge -
the railway had to buy the hospital site (at enormous cost) when the
Charing X extension was built.
--
Paul Terry

In message , Paul Terry
writes

Could the arches have supported the horse ramp to the original London &
Greenwich terminus (bearing in mind that the ground level in the area
has risen progressively over the years?

Following-up my own post, but the following clip from an 1865 map shows
the remnants of the ramp, passing under the Charing Cross extension - it
looks like an unnamed road that continues along the original alignment
of the London & Greenwich Railway, ending in Wellington Street just
below London Bridge itself.

http://archivemaps.com/mapco/whit1865/whit44.htm

The map also shows the original buildings of St Thomas's Hospital still
standing - the Charing Cross extension crosses only a tiny part of the
site that the SER was forced to purchase in its entirety - Station
Approach was built on this site.
--
Paul Terry

On 14 Apr, 18:35, Paul Terry wrote:
In message , Paul Terry
writes

Could the arches have supported the horse ramp to the original London &
Greenwich terminus (bearing in mind that the ground level in the area
has risen progressively over the years?

Following-up my own post, but the following clip from an 1865 map shows
the remnants of the ramp, passing under the Charing Cross extension - it
looks like an unnamed road that continues along the original alignment
of the London & Greenwich Railway, ending in Wellington Street just
below London Bridge itself.

http://archivemaps.com/mapco/whit1865/whit44.htm

The map also shows the original buildings of St Thomas's Hospital still
standing - the Charing Cross extension crosses only a tiny part of the
site that the SER was forced to purchase in its entirety - Station
Approach was built on this site.
--
Paul Terry

I would like to have a proper look but I bet that it's all hidden by
hordings and only visible from a train on that particular track. A
hole seemed to have been drilled through one of them.

It does look as if they are close to where it says Hosp on the map.
Only short sections are exposed, so I don't know how far they go in
any direction. They would have been going across Railway Approach.