Oakwood Underground Station

OAKWOOD UNDERGROUND STATION

This is a Grade II* listed underground railway station comprising a reinforced concrete frame structure clad in mixed Buckinghamshire and light-brown Welsh brick, with flat concrete slab roofs incorporating dentiled soffits.

The station consists of two principal elements. At street level stands a high, rectangular booking hall based on the Sudbury Town design, its large size determined by the width of the cutting beneath. This hall is set behind a low entrance way that incorporates a pair of shops either side of the main entrance, with the covering extending to the rear of the booking hall to roof the steps down to the platform. Below, set within a cutting, the platform element comprises concrete steps leading down to a single central island platform roofed with cantilevered concrete canopies. A pylon bearing the London Underground roundel, with a circular seat at its base and concrete shelter overhead, stands in front of the station and is included in the listing. A curved parade of shops extends on either side of the booking hall, though these are not included in the listing.

The high booking hall features a flat concrete roof with overhanging eaves set with a ridged soffit above a deep plain cornice. The brickwork infill consists of multi-coloured Buckinghamshire bricks in English bond, creating a diaper pattern. The front (west) and rear elevations each have five full-height Crittall steel windows with horizontal glazing bars, with further windows set at the corners of the side elevations. Between these windows are London Underground roundels set in concrete surrounds, with an additional roundel in the central window bay of the front elevation. The booking hall is set behind a low entrance way flanked by a pair of shops with bronze shop windows incorporating ventilation grilles. A broad pair of entrances either side of a central pier lead into the station, positioned behind a slightly upswept cantilevered canopy inset with lights. The brickwork to this lower section is in No 2 light brown Welsh pressed brick above a granite plinth, laid in English bond. The lower level is further marked by a broad eaves band with a concrete fascia beneath incorporating a green tiled band. The blue station name panel beneath the canopy is a replacement, the original having been green.

The double entrance with its low coffered concrete ceiling leads into a vestibule lined with black glazed brick pointed in white, featuring built-in benches and poster boards. A small shop projects into both the lobby and the main hall, with a curved glass front in a painted surround, a curved fascia above (now incorporating a modern light box), and a central timber and glass door. The shop is flanked by tripartite entrances to the station comprising double doors in glazed surrounds, all with horizontal timber glazing bars, brass door furniture and kick plates. These were installed soon after the station opened to reduce draughts from the original open entrances. The lobby ceiling is plastered with round oculi skylights and short cylindrical light fittings designed by Charles Holden's office. The tiled floor is a renewal of the original.

The booking hall itself features a coffered ceiling of concrete beams with exposed brickwork and a concrete ring beam above ground-floor level. Above this point the black glazed brickwork gives way to a lighter brown, both laid in English bond. The St James's tiled floor is a replacement. In the middle of the hall stand a passimeter and a freestanding confectionery kiosk. The passimeter has a lower section of linoleum-coated timber (overpainted) with metal-framed continuous glazing above, including a ticket window with a moulded sill and two projecting box signs. The ticket window on the west side has been enlarged with a modern shutter installed. The confectionery kiosk, bearing a metal sign reading 'MAXWELL', is largely of timber with poster boards (original and modern) in bronze frames and a steel shutter, believed to date from the 1950s and scheduled for removal at the time of description. A further news kiosk is set into the east wall, while the shopfront between the main entrances corresponds to its other façade in the lobby. A sympathetic UTS ticket suite installed in 1987 occupies the south wall, replacing original telephone kiosks. An original blue station clock survives on the north wall, as do several bronze poster surrounds. Exit to the platform stair gallery is via a triple entrance in the east wall, with the outer entrances having glazed timber double doors and the centre having a sliding metal grille. The concrete stair gallery has been altered with the addition of offices at either end, replacement floor tiles, and the creation in 2006-7 of an L-shaped glazed steel gantry at the east of the lobby, parallel with the staircase, connecting to a lift for disabled access on the platform. This addition is not of special interest.

The steps to the single island platform are of concrete with stepped glazed clerestory lights featuring strongly horizontal Crittall metal glazing. The cantilevered concrete canopies, designed by Stanley Heaps of London Underground's in-house architectural office, have central rooflights. The piers are set in linked pairs reminiscent of those at Arnos Grove, with chamfered backs. Two of the central piers are divided to incorporate built-in seats with shallow glazed screens as windbreaks and a small poster board, originally containing a plaque with the coat of arms of Southgate Urban District Council. Others have roundels and one has a poster board with green tiles, with a recess for automatic vending machines. Some original cylindrical platform light fittings, identical to those in the entrance lobby, survive. At the ends of the platforms stand three concrete lamp standards rising from a concrete plinth containing a replacement central roundel flanked by two poster boards in moulded concrete with bronze surrounds. These incorporate replacement T-bar light fittings vaguely reminiscent of the originals. Across the platforms are concrete walls for posters, with central and end piers containing further roundels. Green tile linings to the poster surrounds indicate the former colour scheme of black, grey, yellow and green that decorated the station at platform level. Other surviving features include 'WAY OUT' signs with two feathers and original platform clocks.