Lectures

5th April 2023: Restoring London’s Victorian and Edwardian Railway Architecture

Our talk on 5th April was “Restoring London’s Victorian and Edwardian Railway Architecture” by architectural historian Benedict O’Looney.

With the building of our railways in Victorian times came the construction of the terminuses, the stations, bridges and viaducts. Some of the most iconic station building was in London. Over the years some of these buildings have been demolished, for example Euston Station. Luckily others, like St Pancras, have been saved and restored to their original grandeur. As an awareness of historical significance of railway architecture has grown, many other buildings are being preserved and restored.

Benedict has been invloved in the restoration of London Bridge station, in particular Findlater’s Corner/London Bridge Island at the south end of London Bridge, which has a remarkable groups of Victorian railway arches. These had been left derelict for many years but are now restored to their former glory, which includes the elaborate Italiate carvings, a stag’s head, clock and intricate mozaics.

Another railway building undergoing restoration is the Grade ll listed Peckham Rye Station in south-east London. This Victorian landmark was built in 1865 to serve the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and was designed by architect Charles Henry Driver (1832-1900). When the station was first built, one of its most striking features was the roof. Intricate iron crestings, similar to those outside Parliament, topped the ‘French style’ zinc-clad mansard roof. The iron crestings were removed from Peckham Rye Staion in the interwar period, but similar ones survive at Denmark Hill, Leatherhead, Portsmouth and Eastbourne stations. Benedict has surveyed and photographed these buildings and used the original Victorian contract drawings to accurately re-draw the lost Peckham Rye cast iron work. These cast iron cresting are being re-made and installed on the roof in their original glorious red and gilt.

As with many restoration projects there have been interesting discoveries on the way. The remains of a World War ll German incendiary bomb was found in one of the roofs. An abandoned billiard room and secret staircase were also revealed. The restoration work on Peckham Rye Station is expected to complete in May 2023.

Margaret Bray