An abandoned Tube station that was once a bustling stop for commuters found an unexpected new purpose as a restaurant.

Marlborough Road, on the corner of Finchley Road and Queen’s Grove in northwest London, was a stop on the Metropolitan Line for 70 years after being opened in 1868.

Its curved iron and glass roof sheltered the platforms and was typical of the golden age of station design. The brick building also had a Spiers & Pond refreshment room.

The station was popular, but as buses became more popular, passenger numbers started to drop to around 40 people a day. Marlborough Road’s opening hours were reduced in 1914.

Then, in the 30s, new tunnels were built towards Baker Street due to congestion and the station was no longer needed. It was shut in 1939 and replaced by the newly built St John’s Wood.

But this wasn’t the end for Marlborough Road – it became a part of the local fabric in new and unexpected ways. At one point, it served as a doctor’s surgery, sitting just around the corner from the famous Abbey Road studios. 

In the 70s, it became a Chinese restaurant, Royal China. Apparently, diners’ chopsticks rattled as the trains passed underneath. Royal China closed in 2009.

The station is now used as a power station, installed as part of the power upgrade programme to support the introduction of S stock on the Metropolitan line. 

You can still see remnants of the station, including a remaining section of the platform and the imprint of the curve of the old roof at track level. 

The stairs leading to the old platforms are still in place and you can still see the elegant old archways and brickwork of the old station walls from the tracks as you go past.

It is not the only Tube station with a life after service. One has become a gorgeous little bookshop, another was a store for frozen foods, and some have become power stations to heat people’s homes.