Southgate tube station
Encyclopedia
Southgate is a London Underground
Piccadilly Line
station in Southgate
. It is located between Arnos Grove
and Oakwood
stations and is in Travelcard Zone 4
.
of the Piccadilly line from Finsbury Park
to Cockfosters
. Prior to the station's opening, alternative names were suggested including "Chase Side" and "Southgate Central". On opening, local residents were given a free return ticket to Piccadilly Circus.
/Streamline Moderne
design style using brick, reinforced concrete
and glass and is one of the best known of the many stations Charles Holden
designed for London Underground
. The station building is circular with a flat projecting concrete roof. Externally, the flat roof of the raised central section appears, impossibly, to be supported by nothing more than a horizontal band of windows that provide daylight to the ticket hall. The roof is actually supported, umbrella
-like, from a central column within the ticket hall. The whole building is topped by an illuminated feature resembling a Tesla coil
.
Like Arnos Grove, Oakwood and Cockfosters, Southgate is a listed building in this case at Grade II* (regraded from Grade II in 2009) and retains much of its original decoration. The two escalators have the original column lighting, while bronze panelling is in evidence throughout the station. However; the station is not without change: in the late 1990s, one of the three entrances was filled in to be used as a new ticket office, and due to the design of the automatic barriers, one of the two remaining entrances is exit only.
In 2008 the station was extensively renovated, with new tiling at platform level, a partial new floor in the main ticket hall, and improved signage throughout. The station won the London Regional category award at the 2008 National Railway Heritage Awards for the modernisation of a heritage station.
The preserved condition of the station's original features, particularly the escalators, makes Southgate popular for filming scenes for period dramas, including scenes for the 1999 version of the film, The End of the Affair
.
between Southgate Circus and Station Parade where a series of bus stops are located. A secondary building containing shops wraps around the other side of the parade.
The station is located on a hill and whereas the platforms at the stations on each side are on the surface those at Southgate are in a short section of tunnel. The tunnel portals of both ends are visible from the platforms (though not from the same place), a unique occurrence for a deep-level London Underground station. As usual on the Piccadilly Line, the platforms are labelled Westbound and Eastbound. However, the tunnels run roughly north-south at Southgate, so eastbound is northbound and westbound is southbound.
In the early 1980s
, moving picture advertising
was tested in the tunnels south of the station. The pictures were of a child on a beach turning to face the camera.
Southgate is the northernmost station in tunnel on the London Underground network.
121,
125
,
298
,
299
,
382,
628,
688,
699,
W6,
616
and N91 serve Southgate Station.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
Piccadilly Line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
station in Southgate
Southgate, London
Southgate is an area of north London, England, primarily within the London Borough of Enfield, although parts of its western fringes lie within the London Borough of Barnet. It is located around north of Charing Cross. The name is derived from being the south gate to Enfield Chase...
. It is located between Arnos Grove
Arnos Grove tube station
Arnos Grove is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly line between Bounds Green and Southgate. It is in Travelcard Zone 4 and is located in Arnos Grove, near Arnos Park on Bowes Road, London. The station and surrounding neighbourhood of Arnos Grove take their names from the Arnos Grove...
and Oakwood
Oakwood tube station
Oakwood is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly Line. It is the second most northerly station on the line, between Southgate and Cockfosters stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 5...
stations and is in Travelcard Zone 4
Travelcard Zone 4
Fare zone 4 is a zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services...
.
History
Southgate station opened on 13 March 1933 with Oakwood on the second phase of the northern extensionPiccadilly Line Cockfosters extension
The Piccadilly line extension to Cockfosters added eight new stations to the northern end of London Underground's Piccadilly Line. The extension through north London from to was opened in three stages between 19 September 1932 and 31 July 1933.-Need:...
of the Piccadilly line from Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park station
Finsbury Park Station is a busy transport interchange in North London. The interchange consists of an interconnected National Rail station, London Underground station and two bus stations. The main entrances are by the eastern bus station on Station Place...
to Cockfosters
Cockfosters tube station
Cockfosters is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly Line for which it is the northern terminus. The station is located on Cockfosters Road approximately 9 miles from central London and serves Cockfosters in the London Borough of Barnet although it is actually located a short distance...
. Prior to the station's opening, alternative names were suggested including "Chase Side" and "Southgate Central". On opening, local residents were given a free return ticket to Piccadilly Circus.
Architecture
The station is built in the Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
/Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
design style using brick, reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
and glass and is one of the best known of the many stations Charles Holden
Charles Holden
Charles Henry Holden, Litt. D., FRIBA, MRTPI, RDI was a Bolton-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the...
designed for London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
. The station building is circular with a flat projecting concrete roof. Externally, the flat roof of the raised central section appears, impossibly, to be supported by nothing more than a horizontal band of windows that provide daylight to the ticket hall. The roof is actually supported, umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
-like, from a central column within the ticket hall. The whole building is topped by an illuminated feature resembling a Tesla coil
Tesla coil
A Tesla coil is a type of resonant transformer circuit invented by Nikola Tesla around 1891. It is used to produce high voltage, low current, high frequency alternating current electricity. Tesla coils produce higher current than the other source of high voltage discharges, electrostatic machines...
.
Like Arnos Grove, Oakwood and Cockfosters, Southgate is a listed building in this case at Grade II* (regraded from Grade II in 2009) and retains much of its original decoration. The two escalators have the original column lighting, while bronze panelling is in evidence throughout the station. However; the station is not without change: in the late 1990s, one of the three entrances was filled in to be used as a new ticket office, and due to the design of the automatic barriers, one of the two remaining entrances is exit only.
In 2008 the station was extensively renovated, with new tiling at platform level, a partial new floor in the main ticket hall, and improved signage throughout. The station won the London Regional category award at the 2008 National Railway Heritage Awards for the modernisation of a heritage station.
The preserved condition of the station's original features, particularly the escalators, makes Southgate popular for filming scenes for period dramas, including scenes for the 1999 version of the film, The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair (1999 film)
Michael Nyman would later use "Diary of Love" to open and close his solo album, The Piano Sings . As with many of Nyman's 1990s scores, he incorporates material from his String Quartet No.3, which was in turn based on a choral piece titled Out of the Ruins.-Track listing:#Diary of Hate 2:38#Henry...
.
Location
The station was developed as a bus/underground interchange and the main building sits on an islandRefuge island
A refuge island, also known as a pedestrian refuge or pedestrian island, is a small section of pavement or sidewalk, completely surrounded by asphalt or other road materials, where pedestrians can stop before finishing crossing a road...
between Southgate Circus and Station Parade where a series of bus stops are located. A secondary building containing shops wraps around the other side of the parade.
The station is located on a hill and whereas the platforms at the stations on each side are on the surface those at Southgate are in a short section of tunnel. The tunnel portals of both ends are visible from the platforms (though not from the same place), a unique occurrence for a deep-level London Underground station. As usual on the Piccadilly Line, the platforms are labelled Westbound and Eastbound. However, the tunnels run roughly north-south at Southgate, so eastbound is northbound and westbound is southbound.
In the early 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, moving picture advertising
Zoetrope
A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures. The term zoetrope is from the Greek words "ζωή – zoe", "life" and τρόπος – tropos, "turn". It may be taken to mean "wheel of life"....
was tested in the tunnels south of the station. The pictures were of a child on a beach turning to face the camera.
Southgate is the northernmost station in tunnel on the London Underground network.
Buses
Bus routes121,
125
London Buses route 125
London Buses route 125 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:...
,
298
London Buses route 298
London Buses route 298 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:The route was created in September 1968 as a replacement for part of route 29 and all of route 29B...
,
299
London Buses route 299
London Buses route 299 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Capital.-History:...
,
382,
628,
688,
699,
W6,
616
and N91 serve Southgate Station.