Boston Manor 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 at the boundary of the boroughs of
Hounslow
Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, 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 14 metropolitan cen ...
and
Ealing
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 ...
. It is on the
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
branch of 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 ...
, between
Osterley
Osterley ( ) is an affluent district of Isleworth in west London, England, from Charing Cross in the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Osterley House (National Trust), charity-r ...
and
Northfields stations. It is located in
Travelcard Zone 4.
The station is on a street-level bridge over the line on Boston Manor Road, serving the neighbourhood around
Boston Manor House, north-west of
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
, and southern parts of
Hanwell
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town.
Hanwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. St ...
. Opened in 1883 by 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 ...
, it was reconstructed in 1932 to a Grade II-listed building. Designed by architect
Charles Holden
Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadwa ...
, the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
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 is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...
and
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing () is a London boroughs, London borough in London, England. It comprises the districts of Acton, London, Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, i ...
. 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, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...
(DR) from
Mill Hill Park (now Acton Town) to
Hounslow Barracks (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. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
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, the off-peak
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 ...
service 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
Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadwa ...
. 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 (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
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 station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line between
Osterley
Osterley ( ) is an affluent district of Isleworth in west London, England, from Charing Cross in the London Borough of Hounslow. Most of its land use is mixed agricultural and aesthetic parkland at Osterley House (National Trust), charity-r ...
to the west and
Northfields to the east. 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. It is 10 miles (16 km) north of Charing Cross. Before 1965, it was in the count ...
or
Arnos Grove
*6 tph westbound via the
Heathrow Terminal 4 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. Until 2012, the terminal was used ...
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 s ...
routes
195
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...
and
E8 serve the station.
Notes and references
Notes
References
Books
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External links
London Transport Museum Photographic Archive**
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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
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