Hanwell Station Taken Off the At Risk Register
Renovations at the Grade II listed station approved by Historic England
Hanwell Station has been restored to its former glory
|
Hanwell rail station has been removed from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register following an extensive renovation.
The Grade II listed building which was constructed in the 19th century had been poorly maintained for many years causing concern for Historic England.
Hanwell Station was originally opened by the Great Western Railway in 1838, although the buildings on site today date from a station rebuild in 1877. The station was Grade II listed in 1972 but was already falling into a poor state of repair at that point. Despite having had some work done in 2000, deteriorated signage and peeling paint on platform canopies and buildings showed that the station was in need of a lot of work when TfL and its operator MTR Elizabeth line took over the management of the station in 2017.
The station, which will be served by the Elizabeth line, has been upgraded to meet modern standards while an attempt has been made to retaining its historic character through careful restoration. The station now has improved accessibility and passenger information, and new facilities.
The original station buildings have been repaired, re-painted and restored to the traditional Great Western Railway cream and golden brown colour scheme. Historic signs on the platforms have also been carefully restored, and on the staircases, timber handrails and cast-iron balustrades have been given a new lease of life with lighting upgraded to brighter, energy-saving LEDs fitted in the traditional hanging lanterns.
A derelict building on platform 2 has been turned into a new waiting room with period features, while the waiting room on platform 3 has also been refurbished to match.
New passenger information screens display live travel information including local bus departure times.
Customers using Hanwell TfL Rail station now have step-free access from street to platform after the installation of lifts. The lift on platform 2 was built using specialist equipment and required hand excavation over a period of weeks so that the historic timber canopy could be left in place.
New lifts installed at Hanwell Station to bring step free access
Additionally, the customer toilet has been converted into an accessible facility and an accessible ticket office window has been installed. The station will be one of 41 step-free stations on the Elizabeth line when the railway opens for passengers in the first half of 2022.
In 2020, London Borough of Ealing pedestrianised the area outside of the station to create a paved forecourt for those walking and cycling.
Improvements already made to forecourt of station
Both Ealing and Historic England provided advice and added expertise on the station conservation project.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least two articles a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
February 25, 2021
