Green is the colour : Listed Baron’s Court Tube station earmarked for makeover

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

A 120-year-old Tube station is being lined up for refurbishment and a splash of paint to improve the safety and appearance of the Edwardian stop.

Transport for London (TfL) is hoping to not only repair Barons Court Tube Station but to update its colour scheme to reflect its role serving the District line.

Asked whether the application, submitted to Hammersmith and Fulham council, could result in any closures of the station, a TfL spokesman said this will depend on the outcome of the submission.

Built in 1904 to serve the Metropolitan District Railway, Barons Court is Grade-II listed for what TfL’s application describes as its ‘architectural and historical interest.’

Notable for its Baroque-style frontage and wooden platform benches, among other quirky features, the station today has the Piccadilly and District lines running through it and is the prime stop during the Queen’s Club’s annual tennis tournament.

TfL is proposing four streams of work for Barons Court  Tube station – replacing the timber elements of its canopy, strengthening its columns, repainting the station in the District line colour of green, and general repair and refurbishment works.

For the canopy, the transport authority is looking to replace the timber with like-for-like materials, due to much of the existing structure being rotten. New glass is also suggested for the staircase due to cracked glazing, and the columns, which have suffered rust and water damage, are in need of repairs.

Unlike most District line stations, Barons Court is not decked out in the ‘appropriate colours’, TfL’s documents said. According to the London Underground Station Design Idiom, District line stations should adopt a colour scheme including the line’s iconic green, a discrepancy TfL is hoping to remedy.

“The current colour scheme is not thought to be original and changing this would have no effect on the significance of the building,” TfL said. “Rather it would enhance the station and be a more authentic and appropriate colour scheme for a District line station.”

A TfL spokesman said the exact areas due to be repainted, as with potential closures, will depend on the outcome of the submitted plans. According to the council’s planning portal, a decision is expected by February 15.

Pictured top: Baron’s Court Tube station (Picture: Google Maps)