View source for Oval tube station

{{short description|London Underground station}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox London station|symbol=underground
|name           = Oval
|image_name     = Oval station (8400936845).jpg
|caption        = Station entrance
|manager        = [[London Underground]]
|owner          = [[London Underground]]
|fare_zone      = 2
|locale         = [[Oval, London]]
|borough        = [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]]
|years1         = 18 December 1890
|years2         = 29 November 1923<ref>Chronology of London Railways by H. V. Borley page 75</ref>
|years3         = 1 December 1924
|events1        = Opened (C&SLR)
|events2        = closed for rebuilding
|events3        = reopened
|platforms      = 2
<!-- |tubeexits03    = {{pad|1em}} 4.642
|tubeexits04    = {{increase}} 5.00
|tubeexits05    = {{decrease}} 4.58
|tubeexits06    = {{increase}} 5.18 
|tubeexits07    = {{increase}} 5.922
|tubeexits08    = {{decrease}} 5.92
|tubeexits09    = {{decrease}} 5.79-->
|coordinates    = {{coord|51.4819|-0.1125|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|map_type       = Greater London
}}

'''Oval''' is a [[London Underground]] station in the [[London Borough of Lambeth]]. It is on the [[Northern line]] between [[Kennington tube station|Kennington]] and [[Stockwell tube station|Stockwell]] stations, and is in [[London fare zone 2]].<ref name=stn>{{cite map/Standard Tube Map}}</ref> The station opened on 18 December 1890 as part of the [[City and South London Railway]] and is named after [[The Oval]] cricket ground, which it serves.

==Location==
The station is located at the junction of [[Kennington Park Road]] (heading north-east), Camberwell New Road (south-east), Clapham Road (south west) and Harleyford Street (north west) and is about 500&nbsp;yards from The Oval cricket ground.<ref name=stnlocation>[https://www.google.com.my/maps/place/Oval/@51.4820504,-0.1126962,17z/data=!4m7!1m4!3m3!1s0x4876048db9a81d61:0x634df3d440cdd3b7!2sOval+Tube+Station,+Kennington+Park+Rd,+London+SE11+4PP,+UK!3b1!3m1!1s0x4876048dc396eff5:0xeb5f6550ab496527 Google Maps – Oval Tube Station]</ref> Also close by are [[Kennington Park]] and the imposing [[St Mark's Church, Kennington|St Mark's Church]].<ref name=stnlocation />

==History==
{{expand section|date=February 2015}}
The City and South London Railway opened to passengers between Stockwell and [[King William Street tube station|King William Street]] on 18 December 1890,{{sfn|Rose|1999}} and was both the first standard gauge tube and the first railway to employ electric traction in London.{{sfn|Wolmar|2005|p=135}} To avoid disturbance of surface buildings the construction of the tube was shield-driven at deep level,{{sfn|Badsey-Ellis|2005|p=42}} and much of the work was done via shafts at station sites which later contained the passenger lifts.{{sfn|Badsey-Ellis|2016|p=74}}

Oval tube station was the intended site of one of the [[21 July 2005 London bombings|attempted London bombings on 21 July 2005]].

==Station building==
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2015}}
The Oval station, opened as Kennington Oval, was designed by [[T.P. Figgis|Thomas Phillips Figgis]]<ref name="Labyrinth">{{Cite web |url=https://art.tfl.gov.uk/labyrinth/artwork/oval/ |title=Oval 109 / 270 |website=Art on the Underground |publisher=[[Transport for London]] |access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> 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. The station building was rebuilt in the early 1920s when the line was modernised and was refurbished during the late 1990s at street level with a modern tiling scheme inside and out, adding a full-length glazed canopy and giving the station a more modern look. Reflecting its proximity to the cricket ground, the internal decorative tiling features large images of cricketers in various stances.

In 2004, station staff started to use a whiteboard to display a handwritten "thought of the day" from the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' for the benefit of passengers. This idea then spread to other Underground stations such as [[North Greenwich tube station|North Greenwich]], where the content relates to events at the nearby [[O2 Arena (London)|O2 Arena]].<ref>BBC News, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42666628</ref>

==Services==
Oval station is on the Morden branch of the Northern line between [[Kennington tube station|Kennington]] to the north and [[Stockwell tube station|Stockwell]] to the south. Train frequencies vary throughout the day, but generally operate every 3–6 minutes between 06:03 and 00:27 in both directions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/timetable/northern?FromId=940GZZLUOVL&ToId=940GZZLUKNG&SelectedTime=5 |title=Northern line timetable: From Oval Tube Station to Kennington Tube Station |website= [[Transport for London]] |access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/timetable/northern?FromId=940GZZLUOVL&ToId=940GZZLUSKW&SelectedTime=6 |title=Northern line timetable: From Oval Tube Station to Stockwell Tube Station |website= [[Transport for London]] |access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

{{Adjacent stations|system=London Underground|line=Northern|type1=Morden|left=Kennington|right=Stockwell|next=Kennington}}

==Connections==
[[London Buses|London Bus]] routes [[London Buses route 3|3]], [[London Buses route 36|36]], [[London Buses route 59|59]], [[London Buses route 133|133]], [[London Buses route 155|155]], [[London Buses route 159|159]], [[London Buses route 185|185]], [[London Buses route 333|333]], [[London Buses route 415|415]], and [[London Buses route 436|436]] and night routes [[London Buses route N3|N3]], [[London Buses route N109|N109]], [[London Buses route N133|N133]], [[London Buses route N136|N136]], and [[London Buses route N155|N155]] serve the station.<ref name=busroute1>{{cite web |url=http://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/bus-route-maps/kennington-oval-a4-140522.pdf |title=Buses from Kennington Oval |website= [[Transport for London]] |date=14 May 2022 |access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref name=busroute2>{{cite web |url=http://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/bus-route-maps/kennington-oval-night-a4-280821.pdf |title=Night buses from Kennington Oval |website= [[Transport for London]] |date=28 August 2021 |access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The station was mocked up by the television series ''[[Survivors (1975 TV series)|Survivors: The Lights of London parts 1 & 2]]'', broadcast on [[BBC One]] on 14 and 21 April 1976. However, the filmed site was actually at [[Camden Town tube station#Air raid shelter|Camden Town deep-level shelter]].<ref>[http://www.nickcooper.org.uk/subterra/lu/lufilmtv/stlol.htm Survivors – The Lights of London parts 1 & 2 14-21/04/76 BBC1]</ref>

==Gallery==
{{commons category}}
<gallery>
File:Interior of Oval Tube Station.jpg|Station interior
File:Oval station northbound look south.JPG|Northbound platform looking south
File:Oval station southbound look north.JPG|Southbound platform looking north. It is directly below the northbound platform.
File:Oval Tube roundel.jpg|Station roundel with a direction of the way out
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Badsey-Ellis |first=Antony |title=London's Lost Tube Schemes |year=2005 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=1-85414-293-3 }}
*{{cite book |last=Badsey-Ellis |first=Antony |title=Building London's Underground: From Cut-and Cover to Crossrail |year=2016 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-8541-4397-6 }}
*{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Douglas |title=The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History |year=1999|orig-year=1980 |edition=7th |publisher=Douglas Rose/Capital Transport |isbn=1-8541-4219-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Wolmar |title = The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever |publisher = Atlantic Books |isbn=1-84354-023-1 |orig-year=2004 |year=2005 }}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Oval_Tube_Station_Read_by_Nzseries1.OGG|date=2008-04-19}}
* [https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs London Transport Museum Photographic Archive]
**{{LTM archive|1998-84124|Original Oval station, 1915}}
**{{LTM archive|1998-74604|Station after 1920s rebuild, 1934}}

{{Northern line navbox}}

[[Category:Northern line stations]]
[[Category:Tube stations in the London Borough of Lambeth]]
[[Category:Former City and South London Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1890]]
[[Category:Kennington]]
[[Category:London Underground Night Tube stations]]
[[Category:1890 establishments in England]]