Beat the morning commute with your own Tube station: Secret command centre used by Winston Churchill goes up for sale

Brompton Road Underground station up for sale to raise funds for troops



The Royal Artillery ran its anti-aircraft operations room there

Winston Churchill used command centre to watch over Luftwaffe battle



Historic building expected to fetch an eight figure sum



It was a top secret command centre set up by Winston Churchill to defend London from German aircraft during the Second World War.

Deep inside Brompton Road Underground station, the Royal Artillery ran its anti-aircraft operations room tasked with blasting enemy bombers from the skies in the Blitz.

The bunker is also thought to be where Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party, was brought to be interrogated after being captured in Scotland in 1941.

Scroll down for video tour of the station



The disused London Underground Brompton Road Station contains a drill hall, garages, offices and mess as well as underground rooms, staircases and tunnels

Landmark: The building features the oxblood-red tiled facade and semi-circular windows typical of architect Leslie Green's style

But now the Ministry of Defence is selling off the 28,000 sq ft 'ghost station' in a bid to raise up to £60million for frontline troops.

The property at 206 Brompton Road in central London is currently occupied by the London University Air Squadron, the London University Royal Naval Unit and 46F Squadron Air Training Corps.

The property - close to the world-famous Harrods department store in Knightsbridge - contains a drill hall, garages, offices and mess as well as underground rooms, staircases and tunnels that were part of the former Brompton Road Underground.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), responsible for the management and maintenance of Ministry of Defence land and property, is selling the building having deemed it 'surplus to military requirement'.



Ghost station: The historic 28,000 sq ft building is being sold off by the MoD in a bid to help raise £60m for frontline troops

Spooky: The passages where commuters would have made their way to platforms in the early 20th century remain today Leslie Green: Brompton Road was one of a number of Tube stations designed by the English architect, who favoured the Arts and Crafts style Remains: Switch gear used during the building's days as an Underground station still remain today Developers have expressed interest in turning the Tube station into a tourist attraction with restaurants and bars. Brompton Road Tube opened in 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR) on the Piccadilly Line, positioned between Knightsbridge and South Kensington. The building was designed by English architect Leslie Green and features his distinctive oxblood-red tiled facade and semi-circular first floor windows. New life: 'Boris bikes' are seen lined up outside the Leslie Green-designed station in Knightsbridge as it looks today Historic links: The former Underground station and WWII command centre could be transformed into a tourist attraction Distinctive: The green interior tiles remain inside the Leslie Green-designed station today Eerie: A bricked off tunnel deep beneath the ground at the old Brompton Road Tube station Varied past: The building is currently occupied by the London University Air Squadron, the London University Royal Naval Unit, and 46F Squadron Air Training Corps Danger: Brompton Road ceased to be used as a tube station in 1934 On the market: The MoD is hoping the former Tube station will fetch an eight figure sum when it is marketed by agents Jones Lang LaSalle in September Safety measures: A metal fire escape at the old Underground station on London's Brompton Road London's hidden network: Warning notices hang inside Brompton Road station in central London Warnings: Everything at track and platform level at Brompton Road remains in the ownership of Transport for London, which has no involvement in the sale of the building War years: The Royal Artillery ran its anti-aircraft operations room from Brompton Road during the Second World War Located at the junction of Brompton Road and Cottage Place, the station was convenient for the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Brompton Oratory, but still saw little traffic.

It was permanently closed in 1934 after it was finally deemed to be too close to the neighbouring stations to be economically viable. The station was taken over by the War Office to be used as a command centre for the defence of London. Not viable: The station was conveniently located for Brompton Oratory (pictured), but did not see a lot of traffic through its doors

Attractions: Brompton Road was also close to the Victoria & Albert Museum (pictured), and Harrods, but was closed permanently as a station in 1934 because it was too close to neighbouring Tube stops

War effort: Developers keen to capitalise on the station's links to Churchill have previously expressed an interest in transforming it into a tourist attraction

It was from here that the gun batteries dotted around London were coordinated as they tried to shoot down enemy planes during World War Two.

HIDDEN HISTORY: LONDON'S UNDERGROUND GHOST STATIONS

There are understood to be 32 ghost stations across London's underground network, abandoned over the years as lines were diverted or the number of passengers passing through dwindled.

Like Brompton Road, many of the stations have links to the Second World War. Down Street - last used as a station in May 1932, became an air raid shelter after the war broke out, and Aldwych was used by thousands of Londoners during the Blitz.

The empty station in Westminster has been used as a location for films including Atonement, V for Vendetta, Superman 4 and 28 Weeks Later.

Other abandoned stations still remain at City Road, which was on the Northern Line until it closed its doors in 1922, Marlborough Road, which was on the Metropolitan Line, and South Kentish Town, which closed in 1924. York Road closed in 1932 because it was under-used, while North End is unique in that it is a closed Tube station that never actually opened. Intended to be the deepest station on the underground network, work on North End stopped in 1906 because it was not deemed financially viable.



Churchill is believed to have visited the command centre to watch over the command of the battle against the Luftwaffe.

It was vacated by the War Office in the 1950s but seventy years on the Ministry of Defence still owns it to a depth of about 60ft underground.

The MoD’s jurisdiction ends at a locked gate and beyond this Tube trains still run on the Piccadilly Line.

But evidence of the Royal Artillery's operations centre remains in remarkable condition. Maps of London still hang from the walls of the war room.

The station retains period features including a distinctive brown and green tiling pattern and electrical switch gear.

The Old London Underground Company, which seeks to turn the city's disused train stations into leisure or tourist attractions, has bid for the building.

Founder Aljit Chambers said the Qatari royal family - which owns nearby Harrods - had also expressed an interest in buying the building.

John Taylor, estates surveyor for DIO, said: 'The MOD keeps the size and location of its bases under constant review to ensure the defence estate is no larger than necessary to meet operational needs and provides value for money for the taxpayer.'

The station is due to be marketed by an agent from September.



Simon Hodson, of Jones Lang LaSalle estate agents, which is marketing the building on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, said the disused station was likely to attract a 'high level' of interest from a variety of potential buyers.

'This site provides an excellent redevelopment opportunity and we are expecting a high level of interest from a variety of purchasers when we bring this to the market in September,' he said.