Boston Manor tube station
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Boston Manor is a
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
station at the boundary of the boroughs
Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...
and
Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...
. The station is situated on the
Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
branch of the Piccadilly line, between
Osterley Osterley () is an affluent district of the historic parish of Isleworth in west London approximately from Charing Cross and is part of the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Oster ...
and Northfields stations, in
Travelcard Zone 4 Fare zone 4 is an outer 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. It ...
. The station is on a street-level bridge over the line on Boston Manor Road, serving the neighbourhood around the
Boston Manor Boston Manor is an English Jacobean manor house built in 1622 with internal alterations, intensively restored in later centuries and Boston Manor Park is the adjoining publicly owned green space including a lake. It was the manor house o ...
house, north-west of
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
, and southern parts of
Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
. Opened in 1883 by the
District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...
, it was reconstructed in 1932 to a Grade II-listed building. Designed by architect
Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, the
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
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 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
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 The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...
and
London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population of 3 ...
. 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 The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first par ...
(DR) from
Mill Hill Park Mill Hill Park is a large (14.3 hectare) public park in Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. It one of Barnet's premier parksHounslow Barracks Cavalry Barracks is a former British Army installation located north of Hounslow Heath in Hounslow, west London. Hounslow was one of 40 new barracks established around the country in the wake of the French Revolution, to guard against the dual t ...
(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 Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
of the DR's tracks took place between 1903 and 1905 with electric trains replacing
steam trains A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the Tractive force#Rail vehicles, force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rar ...
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 The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...
services through the station was converted to a
Hounslow West Hounslow West is an area of the London Borough of Hounslow, United Kingdom. It is part of the western residential area of Hounslow but is its own separate area. The area came about with the arrival of the District Railway and then the Piccadilly Li ...
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 Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
. 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 Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
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 Osterley () is an affluent district of the historic parish of Isleworth in west London approximately from Charing Cross and is part of the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Oster ...
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 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. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Origins and ...
or
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, ...
*6 tph westbound via the
Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 4 is an airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft. Within the ter ...
loop *6 tph westbound to
Heathrow Terminal 5 Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Terminal 5 is currently used exclusi ...
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 London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...
routes 195 and E8 serve the station.


Notes and references


Notes


References


Books

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External links

* ** ** ** ** ** ** {{District line navbox 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