Barons Court is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station in

West Kensington West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, includ ...

in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. This station serves the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines), Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One br ...

and the

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...

. Barons Court is between

and

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

on the District line, and between

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

and Hammersmith on the Piccadilly line and is in

Travelcard Zone 2 Fare zone 2 is an inner zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. Bac ...

. East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues in a cutting to West Kensington. The station is the last open air stop for eastbound trains on the

until

Arnos Grove Arnos Grove () is an List of areas of London, area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is centred north of Charing Cross. It is adjacent to New Southgate. The natural grove (nature), grove, larger than today, was f ...

and has

cross-platform interchange A cross-platform interchange is a type of Interchange station, interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly ...

with the

Location

The station is located on Gliddon Road, a short distance from Talgarth Road ( A4). East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues on the surface to West Kensington. West of the station, both Piccadilly line and District line continue to Hammersmith station. The station is located in a deep, brick sided cutting.

History

The tracks through Barons Court were first laid on 9 September 1874 when the

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...

(DR, now the District line) opened an extension from

. When the line was constructed the area now known as " Barons Court" was open fields and market gardens to the west of the hamlet of North End and there was no call for a station between

North End, Fulham North End was, until the last quarter of the 19th-century, a scattered hamlet among the fields and market gardens, between Counter's Creek and Walham Green in the Parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. In connection with the development o ...

and

stations. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the area had been developed for housing and, on 9 October 1905, the District Railway (DR) opened a station to serve these new developments and in preparation for the opening of the

Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London, England.A "tube" railway is an undergr ...

(GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly line), then under construction. The GNP&BR began operations on 15 December 1906, running between Hammersmith and

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

. In the 1990s, the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

station was carefully restored to its original appearance.

Notable fatality

The former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver B. Bira, who was a member of the

Thai Royal family The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; f ...

, was found dead at the station on 23 December 1985. Barons Court stn bench

The station today

The station building was constructed to a design by Harry Ford in a style similar to that used at Earl's Court and Hammersmith and is now a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

as it retains many of its original features, including

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

facing and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

lettering. The wooden benches on the platform with the station name along the back on enamelled metal panels are a unique feature on the entire London Underground. The station has two island platforms to provide an interchange between the two lines - the inner pair of tracks is used by the Piccadilly line and the outer tracks by the District line. The station building has been Grade II listed since 14 February 1985.

Name

The name Barons Court is possibly inspired by the Baronscourt estate in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, where Sir

William Palliser Sir William Palliser CB MP (18 June 1830 – 4 February 1882) was an Irish-born politician and inventor, Member of Parliament for Taunton from 1880 until his death. Early life Born in Dublin on 18 June 1830, Palliser was the fourth of the eig ...

, who built part of the area, may have had connections. Unlike Earl's Court station, Barons Court is written without an apostrophe.

Services

District line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is: *12tph eastbound to

Upminster Upminster is a suburb of east London, England, in the London Borough of Havering, northeast of Charing Cross. Historically a rural village, it formed an ancient parish in the Chafford hundred of the county of Essex. The economic history of ...

(6tph to

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

on Sundays) *6tph westbound to

Ealing Broadway Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

*6tph westbound to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

There is also a morning service every day from Acton Town (Ealing Broadway on Saturdays) to

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes sever ...

and a late evening service from Edgware Road to Ealing Broadway on Sundays only.

Piccadilly line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is as follows: *18 tph eastbound to

Cockfosters Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. It is 10 miles (16 km) north of Charing Cross. Before 1965, it was in the count ...

*3 tph eastbound to

*6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and 5 *6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminals 4 and 2 & 3 *3 tph westbound to Northfields *3 tph westbound to

Rayners Lane Rayners Lane is a suburban district in the London Borough of Harrow that forms the western part of Harrow, London, Harrow in northwest London. Located between Pinner and West Harrow, it takes its name from a road in the area, also called Rayners ...

*3 tph westbound to

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

Nearby places

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College West London College, legally known as the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College is a large further and higher education college in West London, England, formed in 2002 by the merger between Ealing Tertiary College and Hammersmith and West ...

's Hammersmith site is across Talgarth Road on Gliddon Road. *

The Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a Club (organization)#Country or sports club, private sporting club in Barons Court (UK Parliament constituency), Barons Court, West Kensington, London, West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's ...

, location of the

Aegon Championships The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for men's and women’s tennis, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the ATP Tour as well as the WTA 500 ...

tennis tournament, is at the end of Palliser Road. *The

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

, (LAMDA), is on the Talgarth Road. *

Margravine Cemetery Margravine Cemetery, also known as Hammersmith Cemetery, is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The closest London Underground station is Barons Court. History Designed for the Hammersmith Burial Board by local architect George ...

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is district general hospital and teaching hospital located in Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approxim ...

is nearby, and is advertised at the station exit.

In Popular Culture

On 8 June, 1939,

Kinematograph Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

announced that exterior scenes of A Window in London would "be filmed at Baron's Court Underground Station and in Parliament Square."

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** In the distance can be seen the Great Ferris wheel at Earl's Court exhibition ground. ** ** ** {{Piccadilly line navbox District line stations Piccadilly line stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Grade II listed railway stations Former Metropolitan District Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1905 Former Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1906 Railway stations with vitreous enamel panels Art Nouveau architecture in London Art Nouveau railway stations West Kensington Fulham