Barons Court tube station

"Barons Court" redirects here. For the constituency, see Barons Court (UK Parliament constituency).

Barons Court
Station entrance
Barons Court Location of Barons Court in Greater London
Location	West Kensington
Local authority	Hammersmith & Fulham
Managed by	London Underground
Number of platforms	4
Fare zone	2
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019	6.82 million[1]
2020	3.13 million[2]
2021	2.90 million[3]
2022	5.11 million[4]
2023	5.24 million[5]
Railway companies
Original company	District Railway Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway
Key dates
9 September 1874	DR line opened
9 October 1905	DR station opened
15 December 1906	GNP&B platforms opened
Listed status
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1358562[6]
Added to list	14 February 1985
Other information
External links	TfL station info page
Coordinates	51.49056°N 0.21361°W / 51.49056; -0.21361
London transport portal

Barons Court is a London Underground station in West Kensington in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Greater London. This station serves the District line and the Piccadilly line. Barons Court is between West Kensington and Hammersmith on the District line, and between Earl's Court and Hammersmith on the Piccadilly line and is in Travelcard Zone 2.^[7] East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues in a cutting to West Kensington. The station is the last open air stop for eastbound trains on the Piccadilly line until Arnos Grove and has cross-platform interchange with the District line.

Location

The station is located on Gliddon Road, a short distance from Talgarth Road (A4).^[8] East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues on the surface to West Kensington.^[9] West of the station, both Piccadilly line and District line continue to Hammersmith station. The station is located in a deep, brick sided cutting.

History

The station in May 1962 looking east with a westbound Piccadilly line train to Uxbridge.

The tracks through Barons Court were first laid on 9 September 1874 when the District Railway (DR, now the District line) opened an extension from Earl's Court to Hammersmith.^[10] When the line was constructed the area now known as "Barons Court" was open fields and market gardens to the west of the hamlet of North End and there was no call for a station between North End, Fulham and Hammersmith stations.

However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the area had been developed for housing and, on 9 October 1905, the District Railway (DR) opened a station to serve these new developments and in preparation for the opening of the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR, now the Piccadilly line), then under construction.^[10][9] The GNP&BR began operations on 15 December 1906, running between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park.^[9]

In the 1990s, the Grade II listed station was carefully restored to its original appearance.^[11]

Notable fatality

The former Formula One driver B. Bira, who was a member of the Thai Royal family, was found dead at the station on 23 December 1985.^[12]

The unique bench on the eastbound island platform.

The station today

The station building was constructed to a design by Harry Ford in a style similar to that used at Earl's Court and Hammersmith and is now a Grade II listed building as it retains many of its original features, including terracotta facing and Art Nouveau lettering. The wooden benches on the platform with the station name along the back on enamelled metal panels are a unique feature on the entire London Underground.^[6] The station has two island platforms to provide an interchange between the two lines - the inner pair of tracks is used by the Piccadilly line and the outer tracks by the District line.^[9][10] The station building has been Grade II listed since 14 February 1985.^[6]

Name

The name Barons Court is possibly inspired by the Baronscourt estate in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, where Sir William Palliser, who built part of the area, may have had connections.^[13] Unlike Earl's Court station, Barons Court is written without an apostrophe.^[14]

Services

A 1973 stock Piccadilly line train stands at the eastbound platform.

District line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 12tph eastbound to Upminster (6tph to Barking on Sundays)^[10][15]
• 6tph westbound to Ealing Broadway^[10][16]
• 6tph westbound to Richmond^[10][16]

There is also a morning service every day from Acton Town (Ealing Broadway on Saturdays) to Edgware Road and a late evening service from Edgware Road to Ealing Broadway on Sundays only.^[10]

Piccadilly line

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is as follows:

• 18 tph eastbound to Cockfosters^[9][17]
• 3 tph eastbound to Arnos Grove^[9][17]
• 6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and 5^[9][18]
• 6 tph westbound to Heathrow Terminals 4 and 2 & 3^[9][18]
• 3 tph westbound to Northfields^[18]
• 3 tph westbound to Rayners Lane^[9][18]
• 3 tph westbound to Uxbridge^[9][18]

Nearby places

• Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College's Hammersmith site is across Talgarth Road on Gliddon Road.
• The Queen's Club, location of the Aegon Championships tennis tournament, is at the end of Palliser Road.
• The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, (LAMDA), is on the Talgarth Road.
• Margravine Cemetery
• Charing Cross Hospital is nearby, and is advertised at the station exit.

In Popular Culture

On 8 June, 1939, Kinematograph Weekly announced that exterior scenes of A Window in London would "be filmed at Baron's Court Underground Station and in Parliament Square."

References

1. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
2. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
3. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
4. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
5. "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
6. Historic England. "Barons Court Underground Station (1358562)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
7. Standard Tube Map (PDF) (Map). Not to scale. Transport for London. April 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
8. "Barons Court tube station". Google Maps. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
9. Feather, Clive. "Piccadilly line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
10. Feather, Clive. "District line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
11. "Baron's Court Ceremony". London Transport. 19 May 1997. Archived from the original on 4 August 1997. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
12. "The Prince And I: The story of the last Thai F1 driver". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
13. Barons Court station image caption at the Museum of London
14. "London 1994 - Incident on the Tube". Just for my boys. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
15. "District line timetable: From Barons Court Underground Station to West Kensington Underground Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
16. "District line timetable: From Barons Court Underground Station to Hammersmith (Dist&Picc Line) Underground Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
17. "Piccadilly line timetable: From Barons Court Underground Station to Earl's Court Underground Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
18. "Piccadilly line timetable: From Barons Court Underground Station to Hammersmith (Dist&Picc Line) Underground Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 1 June 2015.

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Entrance to GNP&BR tunnel between District Railway tracks, 1906. In the distance can be seen the Great Ferris wheel at Earl's Court exhibition ground.
  • Barons Court station, 1916
  • Booking hall, 1939
  • View of platforms, 1983

Preceding station	London Underground			Following station
Hammersmith towards Ealing Broadway or Richmond		District line		West Kensington towards Upminster or High Street Kensington
Hammersmith towards Uxbridge, Rayners Lane or Heathrow Airport (Terminal 4 or Terminal 5)		Piccadilly line		Earl's Court towards Cockfosters or Arnos Grove