The station was opened on 2 June 1902 by the Whitechapel & Bow Railway (W&BR). Electrified services started in 1905. The first services were provided by the District Railway (now the District line); the Metropolitan line followed in 1936 (In 1988 this section of the Metropolitan was renamed the Hammersmith & City line). In 1946 the station was expanded and rebuilt by the Chief Architect of London Underground, Stanley Heaps and his assistant Thomas Bilbow, as part of the Central line eastern extension, with services starting on 4 December 1946. Following nationalisation of the joint venture owners of the W&BR, full ownership of the station passed to London Underground in 1950.