Summary : Knightsbridge opened on 15th December 1906 to serve the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Bropmton Railway. designed by Leslie Green, the station was composed of blocky Edwardian classical features with its brightly coloured faience making the station immediately recognisable. Knightsbridge featured the most clearly Art Nouveau inspired decoration - perhaps to complement the opulent surroundings. Between and on either side of the arches large floral designs were moulded in low-relief, and the frontage was set back at each side with upper edges following the flowing shapes. The arches themselves were without mouldings and the pilasters capped by volutes beneath pulvinated frieze. An arcade led to the ticket hall and continued to a similarly embellished entrance at the rear, now an entrance to the Basil Hotel. Work on replacing the 1906 station and lifts at Knightsbridge began in 1930, and a new sub-surface ticket hall opened on 18th February 1934 with escalators to the old platforms. A second entrance opposite Harrods came into use in July of the same year, with its own ticket hall, escalators, and a long shop-lined arcade. Black bands in the platform tiling were set against a glaze called 'new discuit cream'. The design for the new station was undertaken by Charles Holden with Stanley Heaps. |