This is a station I used to use a lot when I worked with a charity in Whitechapel.
The station dates to 1938, and was built to replace a station of 1884 vintage slightly to the west, when the triangular junction between Aldgate, Tower Hill and Aldgate East was enlarged. One effect of its rebuilding further eastwards was that an intermediate station between here and Whitechapel, St Mary's (Whitchapel Road), was closed when the new station opened.
It was one of the first 'cut-and-cover' stations to be designed to be completely under the surface (ie the ticket hall is down the steps). The tracks were lowered to accommodate this, with the result that the platforms in effect are double-height, and therefore unusually spacious (although poor lighting results in it being rather dingy, as Moonrising mentions).
It has always had an air of neglect about it, and although it retains its 1930s tiling scheme, this has become very tatty. Let's hope the current refurbishment improves things. The station used to have an attractive red-brick Jacobean-style building above it, but this seems to have disappeared in the general redevelopment of the area.
It is served by both District line trains to and from Upminster, and by Hammersmith and City Line trains. It's less than a five minute walk (west) to Aldgate station, where additional Metropolitan Line trains and the Circle Line run - good to know when things go wrong.
During the day, there's a useful entrance at the east end onto Whitechapel Road. read more