Plaque

Underground Heritage Information
Turnpike Lane Station
Listed as a building of national significance
Architect: Charles Holden & Partners, 1932
Built as part of the 1932/33 Piccadilly line extension to Cockfosters from Finsbury Park, this station was designed to act as an interchange between trains, bus and tram. One now disused subway entrance used to allow access to a road island that formed a tram stop. The building is typical of the Holden 'brick box' style of station, here with tall, vertical ventilation towers that give a greater street presence. The ticket hall's high ceilings are exaggerated by the fact that the floor is several meters {sic} below street level. The fluted bronze uplighters are rare survivors and are typical of Holden's care and attention to design detail.
The platform tiles were originally made by Carter's Poole Potter in Dorset and are similar to other adjacent stations apart from the different coloured border tiles. Noteworthy 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 to the exact original scheme.