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Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground: Challenges and Approaches Kate Fulcher*

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Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground: Challenges and Approaches Kate Fulcher* PIA Volume 22 (2012), 48-60 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/pia.402 Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground: Challenges and Approaches Kate Fulcher* The London Underground is the oldest Underground railway in the world. Some of its stations are now over a century old, and many others have important historical associations. A great number of the early stations were tiled in distinctive schemes, leaving London Underground with an enormous amount of tiling heritage to care for in a transport network that has to continue offering a customer focussed service on a daily basis. This paper discusses the difficulties this presents to London Underground in its efforts to conserve its heritage tiling, and the approaches they have taken. Both London Underground’s and the heritage community’s attitudes to large scale architectural conservation have changed over time, so from an initial approach of retention of all viable original material, they have moved on to a more considered aim of holistic station conservation, focusing on the architect’s intent and the “feel” of a station. It is not only London Under- ground who have been involved in the work affecting heritage tiling, and the impact of other parties is also discussed. Introduction and the size of tiles, and it thus presents The London Underground has a long and com- myriad difficulties for conservation. This arti- plex history, stretching back to the middle of cle covers only ceramic glazed tiles used on the 19th century. Many stations still retain ele- walls inside stations, mainly in underground ments of their historic pasts, in the form of passages (there being very little that survives decorative and functional features, which are above ground). On a station platform with defined by London Underground as “Railway tiled walls, many difficulties may arise in Heritage Features” (LUL 2006a, 48). Such fea- attempting to preserve all of the tiling over a tures include clocks, benches, signage, and long time period. Wiring and signage require- ceramic glazed tiles. They are considered to ments change, vandals cause damage, tiles have intrinsic value because they “have a place age and deteriorate. This is particularly prob- in the history and development of either rail- lematic in an environment that the “visitor” ways in general or that of the London Under- does not associate with heritage, and that is ground in particular” (LUL 2006a, 48). not presented as a heritage destination. The heritage tiling on the London Under- The questions that arise concerning the ground is ubiquitous and highly visible, as conservation of heritage tiling by London well as being highly variable in colour, date Underground include the way in which they deal with the difficulties presented by the unique environment of the Tube (a widely * UCL Institute of Archaeology (alumna) used nickname for the Underground, Bruce 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY & Croome 2006, 8-9), the meaning of con- United Kingdom, servation in a non-heritage focussed environ- [email protected] Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground 49 ment, the possible approaches that are thus tioned here in detail were visited on more available to them, and the extent to which than one occasion. Station names have been these can be executed. used as they are shown on the standard tube I conducted research in three ways: desk map (TfL 2010a). research, interviews and site visits. Interviews with people involved with tiling projects on Social and Historic Importance of Lon- the London Underground formed the main don Underground Tiles part of the research presented here. Inter- Given the impact of the London Under- views were conducted with: ground on the growth and socio-economics • Mike Ashworth, the Design and Heritage of London since it opened in 1863, it should Manager at London Underground; be considered an important part of the social and built history of the city (Halliday 2004; • Adrian Blundell, Works Director at Craven Wolmar 2005). As such, the historical ele- Dunhill Jackfield who make a large num- ments of the network should be thought ber of the replacement tiles for London of as London’s heritage in the same way as Underground; other parts of London’s built environment • David McCartney, a Managing Director at such as Big Ben or St Pancras. The presenta- DMC Rail who do a large amount of the tion of the underground spaces, including modern tiling work within the stations the tiling schemes through the network, is including retiling with replacement herit- an integral part of the network’s histories, age tiles. forming a strong image of London Under- In addition I interviewed local authority con- ground in what might otherwise be a dark, servation officers from Westminster (Matthew forbidding place. Pendleton) and Kensington & Chelsea (Hilary During certain periods of the 20th century, Bell) about their view of the approaches that the design of the public front of the Lon- have been taken. don Underground was controlled by people Other people I spoke to were tangentially with a set of clear architectural visions for connected with tiling or the London Under- the network. These ideas were applied to ground: Robert Excell, a curator at the Lon- distinct phalanxes of stations, lending each don Transport Museum who showed me group a certain “look” and “feel” (what might around their Acton depot; Doug Rose, the now be termed a corporate identity), while author of Tiles of the Unexpected (2007), an at the same time ensuring that each station exhaustive survey of tiling on the Yerkes remained unique; indeed, this was the stated tube lines which took 25 years to complete aim of the architects from the outset (Rose (D. Rose, pers. comm., June 2010); and Jeremy 2007, 22). The men credited with achieving Southern, an independent tile conservator this are Leslie Green, working with and for based in Shropshire. Charles Tyson Yerkes, and Charles Holden Site visits were undertaken to all stations with Frank Pick (Leboff 2002; Rose 2007; mentioned in this project, and many more Lawrence 2008; LUL 2006a, 17, 24, 69). besides. Initial visits lasted about 20 minutes Tiling was used to help form a corporate per station, time which was spent walking image, creating a continuity through the net- up and down the platforms and lower con- work that encouraged recognition of London courses and passageways closely observing Underground property and articulated the the tiles, and taking photographs, which orderliness of the network to the general is permitted on the platforms if no flash is public. These same principles are still of great used (London Underground Film Office, pers. import today. London Underground’s corpo- comm., 25/06/10). All photographs were rate vision is to be “a world-class Tube for a taken in the summer of 2010. Stations men- world-class city” (LUL 2006a, 2). An impor- 50 Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground 2006a, 2). Pick’s stations are an early example of total design; everything within them was thought through and designed into the fabric of the station, from benches to door handles (Lawrence 2008, 7), and it was Pick who com- missioned the London Underground typeface ‘Johnston Sans’ still seen across the network from Edward Johnston in 1916 (Howes 2000). As it was for Frank Pick, so it is for today’s company leaders: they wish to communicate the values of London Underground through its visual representation to the public, who should take from the stations an impression that the organisation is customer driven, hav- ing clear “humanity”, with strong leadership and is operationally integrated (LUL 2006a, 2). Some of the ways in which stations can contribute to this are by “the commonality of the design”, “their high-profile street pres- ence” (LUL 2006a, 3) and “their celebration of the Underground’s heritage and design excel- lence” (LUL 2006a, 4). Therefore the tiling on the London Under- ground can be thought of as important for three main reasons: its contribution to the history of the Underground and thus of Lon- don, its role as corporate representative, and its part in aesthetically improving under- ground areas of the network for passengers. Whether these roles conflict, and to what extent, is investigated further below. The Yerkes stations of 1906/7 are one group of Underground tiled stations dealt with in this research, consisting of forty-six stations across the Bakerloo, Hampstead Fig. 1: Examples of London Underground (Northern Line) and Piccadilly Lines (Rose stations designed by architect Charles 2007, xi). The second type of station consid- Holden. From top: Chiswick Park ered in this study are those designed by or (photographed by Topical Press 12 in the style of Holden under Pick, modernist Oct 1932, LTM U11500); Turnpike statement pieces dating from the early 1920s Lane (photographed by Topical Press to the end of the 1940s (Figure 1). Jan 1933 - Mar 1933, LTM U11887); In 1998 the government announced a Arnos Grove (unknown photographer large scale private finance initiative (PFI) 1932, LTM unknown image number). across the whole Underground network, branding it as the PPP, public-private part- tant part of achieving this goal is to ensure nership, forming three infrastructure units that the station environments are of a high (“infracos”) that used private capital and quality, safe, secure, and welcoming (LUL were responsible for the maintenance and Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground 51 renewal of London Underground’s assets – Current conservation ethics for herit- rolling stock (trains), stations, tracks, tunnels age buildings are phrased similarly as for and signals – for thirty years (Halliday 2004, objects: minimum intervention, reversibility, 200; TfL 2010b). These would be overseen authenticity, documentation (Fielden 2003, by a public operator, London Underground, vii; Forsyth 2007, 6-7).
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