Gants Hill is a London Underground station in the largely residential Gants Hill district of Ilford in East London. It is served by the Central line and is between Redbridge and Newbury Park stations on the Hainault loop. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is the easternmost station to be below ground on the London Underground network and the busiest on the Hainault loop. The station ticket hall is located beneath Gants Hill roundabout and reached via pedestrian subways. It opened on 14 December 1947 as an extension of the Central line to form the new part of the Hainault loop. The station is known for its distinctive architecture featuring barrel-vaulted halls at platform level designed by Charles Holden. Location The station has taken its name from the Gants Hill roundabout, where the name Gants Hill could have originated from the le Gant family who were notable as stewards. The ticket hall is directly underneath the roundabout, located in the heart of Gants Hill district. The roundabout connects to Woodford Avenue, Eastern Avenue and Cranbrook Road. The station serves a mainly residential area, and is near Valentines Park, Valentines High School, and "Faces" Nightclub. History As part of the 1935–40 New Works Programme, the Central line was to be extended from Liverpool Street to south of Leyton where it would connect to and take over passenger operations on the London & North Eastern Railway's (LNER's) suburban branch to Epping and Ongar in Essex. The section of the LNER's Fairlop Loop (now known as Hainault Loop) between Woodford and Newbury Park was also to be transferred, though not the section south from Newbury Park to Ilford and Seven Kings on the Great Eastern Main Line. To replace the truncated route south from Newbury Park, a new underground section between Leytonstone and Newbury Park was constructed, running mostly under Eastern Avenue. Three new stations, which include Gants Hill were built to serve the new suburbs of north Ilford and the Fairlop Loop. During planning, the names "Ilford North" and "Cranbrook" were considered for this station. Construction began before 1937 and most of the tunnelled section was completed by 1940 but delayed due to the outbreak of the Second World War and eventually came to a halt in June 1940. During the war, the station was used as an air raid shelter and the unused tunnels between the station and Redbridge were