| Summary : Early plans by London Underground proposed that the building of Arnos Grove station be based on the Hounslow West type with a polygonal ticket hall behind a curved colonnade. However, Charles Holden adapted the Sudbury Town theme to produce a cylindrical ticket hall tower, rising from a square lower range of buildings. The absence of any development in the area gave the designers a completely free hand and the circular ticket hall seemed the ideal basis of the plan - traffic flow was the prime consideration and the roundabout is one of the best ways of regulating this. Arnos Grove was designed immediately following Sudbury Town and it was intended that the use of load-bearing walls be continued, but the problems with leaking shuttering at Sudbury Town led to the adoption of a steel frame so that the concreting could be carried out before the brickwork was started. The design was re-worked by Holden's assistant Charles Hutton. Brindled Staffordshire bricks were used for the lower buildings with the ground floor cantilevered out from the main frame so that it could be concreted before the brick walls were built. The station name was set in an illuminated panel above the entrances, with a background of blue faience. Arnos Grove was the temporary terminus of the four-mile Piccadilly line extension towards Cockfosters which opened on 19th September 1932. The station, stated as being Holden's favourite, was restored to near original condition in 1990 and used for the display of a small exhibition detailing the history of Charles Holden's work for the Underground Group and London Transport. |