Station Pylons to North and South of Southgate Station

Details

ENFIELD

790/22/80 STATION PARADE 19-FEB-71 SOUTHGATE Station pylons to north and south of S outhgate Station (Formerly listed as: STATION PARADE N14 SOUTHGATE STATION SIGN TO NORTH OF SOUTHGATE STA TION) (Formerly listed as: CHASE SIDE N21 SOUTHGATE STATION SIGN TO NORTH OF SOUTHGATE STA TION)

II* Pair of pylons, one to north and one to south, form part of the main oval-shaped station island. They were erected in 1933 to the designs of Stanley A. Heaps for the London Passenger Transport Board, based on a design by Charles Holden of Adams, Holden and Pearson. These each comprise lamp standards, station sign and a seat. The pylon is a reinforced concrete tapering shaft that incorporates a sign that reads 'UNDERGROUND', the central nine letters set within dashed tracks. At the summit is a steel halo supporting five pendant lights. Below this, an upswept concrete canopy pierced by a concrete pier, with an encircling timber seat near the base. The northern panel has polished granite panels above the seat.

HISTORY: Southgate Underground Station was approved in 1930 and opened in 1933 on the northern extension of the Piccadilly Line. This seven mile extension beyond the original terminus of Finsbury Park required a parliamentary act and was to serve the enlarging suburban areas in north Middlesex. The first section of the line, from Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove, which included the stations at Manor House, Turnpike Lane, Wood Green and Bounds Green, was opened on 19 September 1932. Southgate and Enfield West (now Oakwood) followed in March 1933 and the terminus at Cockfosters opened on 31 July 1933. The London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was created on 1 July 1933. This group of stations was commissioned by Frank Pick (1878-1941) and designed by architect Charles Holden (1875-1960), who together created an architecturally distinguished group of buildings. Pick worked for London underground railways from 1906-1940, throughout his career striving to promote high-quality, well-detailed design that he believed was essential for serving the public. Holden was an accomplished Arts and Crafts architect in the Edwardian period who uniquely made the move to modernism, following a 1930 study tour (with Pick) of continental railway stations and modern architecture. Together they firmly promoted functionalist modernism for the new station designs, taking advantage of newly available materials, and adopting the continental and American idea of a primary concourse as circulation space, with the ticket hall as the dominant element of the new buildings. The southern pylon is believed to have been reconstructed at some point in the late C20.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: This pair of pylons are listed at Grade II*, along with the contemporary underground station, for the following principal reasons: * They are functional and aesthetic components of the significant Southgate station transport interchange, designed by Charles Holden, and good examples of the attention to every detail demanded by Frank Pick of his designers. * They are landmark features that denote the presence of the slightly set back station, and form an integral design feature of the complex. * They demonstrate Pick's determination to integrate London's transport and his architect's successful attention to that important brief. * Their bold verticality is intended to offset the low curving horizontality of the main station building, also listed at Grade II*. * They cleverly incorporate the distinctive logo of London Underground and therefore play an important role in the integration of modern corporate identity that the company pioneered.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

200576

Legacy System:

LBS

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