Lost tiles and ghost poster frames revealed at Oval tube station

"When that branch of the Northern line was modernised in the 1920s, they also rebuilt Oval tube station, replacing the lifts with escalators and the Victorian Arts and Crafts design with a plainer modernist design lined with tiles. This was covered over in the late 1990s with larger tiles that also covered up some of the detailing in the 1920s building, such as the poster holders built into the outer walls."

"Around the door frame to the station, you can see the smaller cream square tiles, with the black bands that would once have held posters advertising everything from Ovaltine to Oval Fairy Soap to Oval cigarettes. Around the side, there are more black poster tile frames, covered in places by the tile cement that was plastered over them in the late 1990s."

"However, the tiling added in the 1990s needed reinforcing bolts installed around 2010 to keep them stable, and the whole lot has now been removed entirely. That means for a few weeks, you can see the remains of the 1920s station building, with some of the long-hidden decorative details."

Oval tube station, opened in 1890 as part of the City and South London Railway, underwent modernization in the 1920s when escalators replaced lifts and modernist design replaced Victorian Arts and Crafts styling. The station featured distinctive cream tiles with black bands designed to hold advertisements. In the late 1990s, larger tiles covered this original 1920s work, obscuring decorative details including poster holders built into outer walls. A glass canopy also replaced the classic square Underground canopy. After reinforcing bolts were added around 2010 to stabilize the 1990s tiling, the entire cladding has now been removed for repair, temporarily exposing the 1920s station building and its long-hidden decorative elements.

Read at ianVisits