Reimagined tube map showcases inspirational north London women

A partnership between TfL and City of Women, the new map sees station names replaced with the names of iconic women from the fields of sports, art, activism, medicine and beyond.

In addition to well-known figures such as Florence Nightingale, Amy Winehouse and Emmeline Pankhurst, the map also invites Londoners to celebrate women from TfL’s history such as Hannah Dadds, the first woman to become a Tube driver, and Jill Viner – the first female London bus driver.

Highbury and Islington station is named after Islington born activist Phyll Akua Opoku-Gyimah, known as Lady Phyll.

Lady Phyll's movement has 100,000 followers online. (Image: UK Black Pride)

Lady Phyll has fought for the safety of Black and LGBTQI+ communities throughout her life. She is also one of the co-founders of UK Black Pride.

Her statement on the website reads: "If I stand here in my true authentic self, it means I stand here and am able to talk about race without having to leave my gender at the door. I stand here and talk about gender without having to leave my sexual orientation at the door. I stand here being a lesbian - part of the lesbian gay bisexual queer and intersex (LGBTQI) family - without having to leave a hidden disability at the door. "

Finchley Road is named after photographer Dorothy Bohm.

Photographer Dorothy Bohm with some of her work on display at Burgh House, as part of the Photographers of Hampstead exhibition. Picture: Polly Hancock (Image: Archant)

Best known for her portraiture and street photographer, Dorothy was born into a Jewish-Lithuanian family in 1924, in what was then Konigsberg, Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia).

The rise of Nazism led to her and her brother Ivor being sent to England. Dorothy would travel extensively living in Paris, New York and San Francisco before settling in Hampstead.

Wembley Park station is named after Hope Powell CBE, a former English footballer who would go on to coach the England women's national football team and the Great Britain women's Olympic football team.

Finsbury Park is named after singer Sade and Seven Sisters after Hampstead-born broadcaster Moira Stuart CBE, whowas the first Black woman newsreader in the UK.

Moira Stuart was made CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours 2022 (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

African-Caribbean- British feminist activist Marai Larasi takes Old Street stations spot on the tube map.

The community organiser has worked in social justice for almost three decades with much of her work focused on ending violence against Black women and girls.

The tube map project is the brainchild of Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of best-selling book Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race, and actress Emma Watson, who were inspired by a similar project in New York by Rebecca Solnit.

An interactive version of the map developed by University College London is available online, which features biographies and interviews with some of the women who are featured.

Reni Eddo-Lodge said: “As a Londoner, I’ve walked the streets of this city for decades, not conscious of the fact that so many of the city’s place names have a fascinating etymology.

"These iconic places are named after pubs, and parks, gates and members of the monarchy, but I was excited to give the map a feminist refresh. Our map switches the focus to women and non-binary people, contemporary and historic, who have made indelible marks on the city’s trajectory."

In addition to the reimagined Tube map, TfL has also launched a six-week exhibition at Victoria station featuring portraits of some of the women who work to keep London’s transport network moving.

With the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day being “break the bias”, TfL has said it hopes the exhibition will inspire more women to consider a career in transport.

The poster display will be available to view as passengers move between platforms at Victoria station.

To view the map visit www.cityofwomenlondon.org