| Summary : The original station at Osterly (see TQ 17 NW 40) opened on 1st May 1883 as Osterley and Spring Grove on the District Railway's branch to Houslow Town. The 'New Works Programme 1930' included the westward projection of Piccadilly line services over the existing Hounslow, Harrow and Uxbridge branches to serve the new housing estates and take some traffic which was overloading the District. As early as June 1931 it had been decided to relocate Osteley station further west at the side of the Great West Road, where housing and industrial developments were progressing rapidly. The road was then the busiest arterial route in London and a good potential source of traffic. Charles Holden's preliminary plan for the station - then identified as 'Osteley Park' - comprised a ticket hall tower of the 'box' type, but the final scheme by Stanley Heaps was devised on similar lines to Boston Manor to suit the housing of the area and yet be easily found by travellers. The rebuilt facility opened on 25th March 1934 with an exterior of brown brick laid in monk bond. Tubular steel columns carried the clerestory, kiosk and footbridge roofs to give almost uninterrupted glazing. On top of the 70ft-high tower was placed a lighted beacon of concrete with pressed glass lenses set into it. This has been compared to Hildo Krop's sculpture for the former 'de Telegraaf' newspaper offices in Amsterdam, although Charles Hutton, who worked on the design, has said that it was merely a structure to carry the lamp units, inspired by a natural form such as a cactus. Part of the shelter on the eastbound platform has since been enclosed as a waiting room. The passimeter was replaced by a new booking office in 1989. |