Boston Manor tube station

Boston Manor is a London Underground station at the boundary of the boroughs Hounslow and Ealing. The station is situated on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Osterley and Northfields stations, in Travelcard Zone 4.

The station is on a street-level bridge over the line on Boston Manor Road, serving the neighbourhood around the Boston Manor house, north-west of Brentford, and southern parts of Hanwell. Opened in 1883 by the District Railway, it was reconstructed in 1932 to a Grade II-listed building. Designed by architect Charles Holden, the Art Deco styled structure features a tall tower which acts as a landmark of the area. The station was once served by both the Piccadilly and District lines, with the latter having its last service withdrawn in 1964.

Location

Boston Manor station entrance is on Boston Manor Road, and the station serves a small residential area in Brentford. The station sits close to the boundary between the London Borough of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing. Nearby places include Boston Manor playing fields, Elthorne Park high school, Gunnersbury Boys School and Swyncombe playing field. The Grand Union Canal and Brent river are also accessible from the station. Northfields depot is just to the east of the station. Boston Manor dates back to the 1170s as "Bordwadestone", which referred to Bord's tun, or farm, by the stone. The Jacobean mansion named Boston Manor House was constructed in 1622–23, and is also near the station.

History

In 1866, permission was given to local landowners for a Hounslow and Metropolitan Railway, which would serve areas in Hounslow such as Boston Manor, and to connect to another proposed line called the Acton & Brentford railway. However, the latter was never constructed but instead a extension of the District Railway (DR) from Mill Hill Park (now Hounslow West) was considered and granted.

Boston Manor was initially opened by the DR on 1 May 1883 as part of an extension from Mill Hill Park to Hounslow Town. The station was originally named Boston Road. The signs on the platforms gave the name as Boston Manor ''for Brentford & Hanwell''. Electrification of the DR's tracks took place between 1903 and 1905 with electric trains replacing steam trains on the Hounslow branch from 13 June 1905. Northfield (Ealing) Halt (now Northfields), the next stop to the east was only opened on 16 April 1908. The station was given its current name on 11 December 1911.

To prepare for the Piccadilly line extension to Hounslow, the station was rebuilt between 1932 and 1934 in a Modernist style which replaced the 1883 station building. During the reconstruction, a temporary booking hall was built. Most of the platform infrastructure was kept, partly due to its substantial buildings compared to other stations. Piccadilly line services, which had been running as far as Northfields since 9 January 1933, were extended to run to Hounslow West on 13 March 1933 when the partially completed Boston Manor station was opened to passengers. The new station building was finally completed on 25 March 1934.

Because of the Piccadilly line extension, off-peak District line services through the station was converted to a Hounslow West to South Acton shuttle. This was discontinued on 29 April 1935 while peak hour services were withdrawn completely on 9 October 1964.

In 2018, it was announced that the station would gain step-free access by 2022, as part of a £200m investment to increase the number of accessible stations on the network.

Station features

The original 1883 station building was built by the District Railway. It was a red brick building with an enamel pecked half roundel attached to the arched window space above the booking office entrance. A lampshade branded Tiffany was above the roundel. The original stairs to the platforms with cast iron balustrades are retained. The fretted wooden awnings at the platform remain intact, with the canopy pillars painted black and yellow. Cast iron columns with capitals and octagonal bases provide support for the part-glazed timber roof on iron trusses.

The new station building occupies a narrow site due to the nearby depot, where it was built out over the tracks. It features a Modernist style design by Stanley Heaps, in consultation with Charles Holden. The main structure is of brown bricks and reinforced concrete, topped by a flat roof. Inspired by contemporary Dutch and German architecture, the distinctive tower functions as a landmark within the low-height suburban residential area. The tower is decorated with glazed ceramic tiles and pasted with an enamelled London Underground logo. The upper stages of the tower are fitted with a vertical strip of glass bricks which is part of a lighting feature. The booking hall sits to the right of the single-storey structure, lit with clerestory windows. The ticket office kiosk retains its banded tile decoration. A curved shop unit adjoins to the left side of the structure. Metal-framed windows were added to the western ends of the shelters at platform level.

The station, architecturally noted for Holden's Art Deco design, was granted Grade II Listed status on 21 March 2002. On 9 January 2013, the station appeared on a British postage stamp as part of a set commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first London underground train journey. The stamp's caption read "Boston Manor Art Deco Station". The station also has a Labyrinth puzzle, which is installed at all stations on the Underground network. This labyrinth puzzle is part of the Woodcut family, installed at the top of the stairs leading to eastbound Platform 2, next to a booking office window.

Services and connections

Services

Boston Manor is between Osterley and Northfields on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line. The typical off-peak frequencies, in trains per hour (tph), are as follows:
*12 tph eastbound to Cockfosters or Arnos Grove
*6 tph westbound via the Heathrow Terminal 4 loop
*6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminal 5

Night tube is also operational on this part of the line, with 6 tph on both directions between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Cockfosters.

Just to the west of the station, Piccadilly line trains can enter or exit the Northfields depot via crossovers. The depot has more than 20 sidings and was built in the 1930s to facilitate the extension of the Piccadilly line to Hounslow.

Connections

London Buses routes 195 and E8 serve the station.

Notes and references

Notes

References

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Piccadilly line stations
London Underground Night Tube stations
Tube stations in the London Borough of Hounslow
Former Metropolitan District Railway stations
London Underground stations located above ground
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1883
Charles Holden railway stations
Art Deco architecture in London
Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Hounslow
Grade II* listed railway stations