Selected article
|
Westcott railway station was a small station built to serve the village of Westcott, Buckinghamshire, and nearby buildings attached to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild's estate at Waddesdon Manor. It was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1871 as part of a short private horse-drawn tramway for the Duke's estates in Buckinghamshire and to connect to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the tramway was extended to Brill to provide a passenger service becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899, the operation of the line was taken over by the Metropolitan Railway.
Following the 1933 transfer of the Metropolitan Railway to public ownership to become the Metropolitan line of London Transport, Westcott station became a part of the London Underground, despite being over 40 miles (60 km) from central London. The management of London Transport believed it very unlikely that the line could ever be made viable, and Westcott station was closed, along with the rest of the line, in November 1935. The station building and its associated house are the only significant buildings from the Brill Tramway to survive other than the former junction station at Quainton Road. (Full article...)
All selected articles
|
Selected biography
|
Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the form of the broad edged pen as a writing tool, a particular form of calligraphy. He was born in San José, Uruguay. Johnston started teaching at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London's Southampton Row, where he influenced the typeface designer and sculptor Eric Gill. Then he moved on to the Royal College of Art and many students were inspired by his teachings. In 1912 Johnston followed Gill to Ditchling where he died in 1944.
He is most famous for designing the sans-serif Johnston typeface that was used throughout the London Underground system until it was re-designed in the 1980s, as well as the famous roundel symbol used throughout the system.
He has also been credited for reviving the art of modern penmanship and lettering single-handedly through his books and teachings. Johnston also devised the simply crafted round calligraphic handwriting style, written with a broad pen, known as the foundational hand. In 1921, students of Johnston founded the Society of Scribes & Illuminators (SSI), probably the world's foremost calligraphy society. (Full article...)
All Selected biographies
|
Did you know...
|
More Did you know...
|
Related portals
|
|
|
Selected pictures
|
-
Image 1Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
-
Image 2"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
-
-
Image 4The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
-
-
-
Image 755 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
-
Image 8View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
-
Image 9Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
-
Image 10London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
-
Image 11Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
-
Image 12Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
-
Image 13Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
-
-
-
Image 16Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
-
Image 17Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
-
Image 18Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
-
Image 19TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
-
Image 20The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
-
Image 21Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
-
Image 22Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
-
-
Image 24A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
-
Image 25The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
-
Image 26London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
-
Image 27Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
-
-
Image 29Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
-
Image 30London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
-
Image 31Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
-
-
Image 33Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
-
-
Image 35The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
-
Image 36Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
-
Image 37The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
-
Image 38Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
-
Image 39Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
-
-
Image 41Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
-
Image 42Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
-
Image 43Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
-
-
-
-
Image 47Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
-
Image 48The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
-
Image 49The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
All Selected pictures
|
In the news
|
Archive
|
Anniversaries
|
|
|