The station opened on 22 August 1856 as part of the Eastern Counties Railway branch from London to Loughton. It originally had staggered platforms, with the main buildings on the down side (tracks heading away from London). The 1856 station house survives to the south of the present platforms, but most of the present station dates from 1892, when the entrance was moved to Victoria Road. The building is similar to that at Billericay. By this date the station formed part of the Great Eastern Railway which was, from 1923, to become part of the London & North Eastern Railway.
The station was transferred to London Underground ownership as part of the New Works Programme, 1935-1940 scheme that saw the electrification of the branch to form part of the Central line. This occurred on 21 November 1948. The station maintains its late Victorian ambiance to a surprising extent. There are disused exit/entrances to the south of the station that date from the transfer to the Underground; these gave direct access to Lower Queens Road and Queens Road. The pedestrian underpass between these two roads is still open. These exits were closed permanently in the 1980s, saving the expense of installing automatic ticket barriers on these additional two entries.
For the purposes of fare charging it is in Zone 5. As of 2007 it is the only station on the eastern portion of the Central Line in that zone, in fact Buckhurst Hill is the only through station in zones 1 to 6 on the London Underground to be in a zone on its own, passengers travelling from the station leaving in either direction must cross a zone boundary.