Underground Heritage Information
Manor House station
Architect: Adams, Holden & Pearson (Charles Holden) 1932
Opening on 19 September 1932, this was the first station on the northern extension of the Piccadilly line beyond Finsbury Park.
The station has very little prominence at street level with only limited canopy structures over the park-side entrances. There were also originally subways that served now demolished tram loading shelters that stood in the middle of the road. The asymmetrical ticket hall was carefully designed so to make best use of space and Holden took great care in the details and finishes to features such as the central columns. The ceiling, decorated in a pattern of circular mouldings with inset lighting compliments the unusual shape of the ticket hall.
The platforms were lined to give an elliptical or egg shaped profile to enable the recessing of equipment and furniture to give clear lines of sight. The platforms tiles were originally made by Carter's Poole Potter{y} in Dorset and are similar to other adjacent stations apart from the different coloured border tiles - here they are blue. Also of note are the bronze ventilation grilles that depict a stylised play on the station name. These were designed by Harold Stabler R.D.I., a notable artist and designer, who was elected a "Royal Designer for Industry" in 1936 He was closely connected with the Poole Pottery.
In 2006 a modernisation of the station resulted in the platform wall tiles being sensitively replicated according to the original design. In addition the crude strip lighting that had disfigured the ticket hall ceiling was removed.
Site: Manor House Station (1 memorial)
N4, Green Lanes
The station is on the Piccadilly line. We usually aim to show photographs of the exteriors of London underground stations, because of their architectural merits. In this case we have failed miserably. Manor House station actually has seven entrances/exits, but all bar one are just staircases. The only one with a building is so dreary, that we have a photo of the ticket hall instead, which is much more appealing.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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