Forum Topic

RIchmond Station

There’s an article on MailOnline regarding Richmond Station.  It has been renovated and restored to its ArtDeco glory. Wonderful!

Martine Guy ● 3d28 Comments

Thanks, David, for giving a link to the ChileHaus by Fritz Hoger. It’s a stunning building. I have not come across it, or the architect before, I’ll definitely check him out.  The AEG turbine hall by Peter Bergen’s is, of course, an icon of early modernism. Mighty stuff, indeed.

Gerry Boyce ● 11h

Time, like an ever-rolling stream ...https://www.flickr.com/photos/snookphotograph/5352682958

David Ainsworth ● 1d

From Hamburg, the Chilehaus, which I have only seen in a book.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilehaus#/media/File:Chilehaus_-_Hamburg.jpgAnd the AEG Turbine Hall, Moabit, Berlin, which I have seen.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AEG_turbine_factory#/media/File:Berlin_AEG_Turbinenfabrik.jpg

David Ainsworth ● 1d

Very good calls, Robert. Lots of beautiful Edwardian houses too, in Putney Heath close to Bowling Green Lane; a few impressive mansion blocks as well.

Gerry Boyce ● 1d

Good call, Richard, the Hoover is a hum-dinger of a building. A real gem! That goes on my list of buildings to visit.By the way, let me put in a plug for the Isokon building in Hampstead which I visited recently, it’s gorgeous. The relatively recent renovation has brought it back to its former glory. There is a fantastic Isokon Gallery which is free to enter and well worthwhile; but I think it’s closed December until March.On a more local level, the Dorich House & Museum on Kingston Hill is an incredible building with a great story about the owners who commissioned the house….there are really good sculptures to see and an amazing view from the rooftop terrace. Oh, and it’s free to visit!

Gerry Boyce ● 1d

My personal favourite is the RIBA building in Portland Place the strength in the detailing really comes through. Don’t forget we also have Bowling Green Close in Putney Heath that has a road of 1930 houses.

Robert Wheeler ● 1d

Richard, I agree.  The Hoover building is fantastic

Martine Guy ● 1d

One of my favourite Art Deco buildings is the former Hoover factory on Western Avenue (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Building): it's magnificent,  but for me the  factory’s former canteen, the structure next to the main building, now the Royal Nawaab restaurant. I've no idea what the food is like there, but the building is simply perfect

Richard Carter ● 1d

Thanks for this David, I think we will stick to the tube when we decide to go.

Martine Guy ● 1d

Further:-Looking at the map, Bakerloo to Harrow and Wealdstone looks closer to the cinema and so a more walkable distance. But I haven't used that Ugrd route much. For me, I think that it was just a back-up route.

David Ainsworth ● 1d

"If we want to go to the former Dominion Theatre, Harrow on the Hill, as per Richard’s post, has anyone got any advice on getting there by public transport."Normally we go by District Line up to Edgware Road. Then one stop on Hammersmith and City to Baker Street.Then Metropolitan to Harrow-on-the Hill Ugrd Station.Now the flaky bit (apart from walking which is 16 minutes, says TFL) - there are several buses from the bus station right by the Ugrd station, but I have not used them as I go to another bit of Harrow normally. Anyway, there are enough buses to mean no long wait (I know, huh!) - the 3 that I have found in TFL are 140, 258, 340.Surprisingly quick journey to Harrow station, when things are running OK. Might be more comfortable to avoid days when a match is on at Wembley. There are other Ugrd routes if stairs are a problem. Just ask me.

David Ainsworth ● 1d

If we want to go to the former Dominion Theatre, Harrow on the Hill, as per Richard’s post, has anyone got any advice on getting there by public transport.  We hardly ever go to North London, so any advice would be helpful.  Or is it better to drive?  Thanks.

Martine Guy ● 1d

Katrina we went passed the Garden Centre yesterday, on the corner of Gilpin Avenue, it looked lovely with all the lights on top. I was at school at the little primary school and Hertford Ave, Girls School. When I went there it was only Girls and Boys across the field.

Barbara Stevens ● 1d

A bit off topic now but I find the 337 bus to Richmond, unreliable, slow and an awful hike to get to Upper Richmond Rd. I take the 378 to Barnes Terrace on the riverside and pick up the Richmond bus there. The route is quicker, depending on the time of day and I find it more interesting. It goes past the Richmond Station and the Mortlake Brewery Barbara mentioned where the film studios are. Sadly they'll go in the new development.I also take the 378 to Mortlake, when we go to the Sheen garden centre. It's a pleasant walk over the bridge and up the little street that brings you out at the garden centre.

Katrina Black ● 1d

The above proposal for the old BHS site is within 5 minutes walk from one of this country’s greatest Art Deco buildings, the wonderful BBC Broadcasting House in Portland Place.

Martine Guy ● 2d

Tbh, I am not keen on either building.  But to compare the proposed scheme to gothic revival is an insult to Augustus Pugin, Sir George Gilbert Scott and William Burges and all the other Gothic Revival architects.  Is this really the best anyone can come up with on this important London street?

Martine Guy ● 2d

Not Art Deco, but a rare example of what I think anyway, is actually an improvement on an existing mess, in Oxford Street:https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/from-bhs-to-gothic-revival-oxford-street-tower-lined-up-for-cathedral-inspired-rebuild-85923/

Richard Carter ● 2d

Thanks for the info on The Dominion cinema, David. It looks like an absolute gem. I’ll definitely be paying a visit in the not too distant.

Gerry Boyce ● 2d

"And for a real treat, try the (former) Dominion cinema in Harrow on the Hill"Wonderful. I wondered why I had never seen it, then I realised that I had seen it in its 1962 covered up form. Still, that did preserve it for 60 years until it could be revived (hopefully for a long while).Wikipedia on F.E. Bromige, the architect - Harrow Dominion (1936) described as "one of the most remarkable cinema buildings ever to be erected in Britain", "by the mid-1930s he was inspired by German expressionist architecture, such as Erich Mendelsohn's Einstein Tower":-https://www.greyscape.com/einsteinturm/

David Ainsworth ● 2d

Richard, I like some brutalist architecture, eg London’s Southbank, and I like some, but not all, of the buildings in the Guardian article.  Maybe if some of these buildings had received investment and proper upkeep, they wouldn’t look so bad. When I searched on Google for local examples of Art Deco, there was mention of the Metro Bank building on PHS, evidently it is supposed to be Art Deco design.  No it’s not!  We lost a little bit of Deco on our high street when the old BHS was demolished to make way for the hideous Metro building. 

Martine Guy ● 2d

On the other hand, there's this: "Scotland's brutalist beauties." Well, I think we can agree on two of these words...https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2025/dec/04/they-rose-out-of-the-ground-scotland-brutalist-beauties-in-pictures

Richard Carter ● 2d

Thank you for the input on this.  All Art Deco suggestions welcome.  I love the architecture and design of it, as it brings to mind the glamour of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Elizabeth, I am the same as you and never go to Richmond station as I use the 337, however there is a Deco building to look at as you go by on the bus, which you may already know about:  Lichfield Court, Sheen Rd.  Grade II listed and used in filming of Agatha Christie’s Poirot “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”. We will be sure to visit Richmond Station in the future.

Martine Guy ● 2d

I agree about the renovation of Richmond station, and I've always been impressed by Surbiton station as well.And for a real treat, try the (former) Dominion cinema in Harrow on the Hill:

Richard Carter ● 2d

Thank you Martine and Katrina for those suggestions. There's a nice art deco former cinema in Bath, the Forum. It's attractively renovated and concerts are held there during the Bath "Fests" each spring and autumnI'll look out for Richmond station. I rarely see it as I go there on the 337/

Elizabeth Balsom ● 2d

Ì agree, Katrina. I am sure you must have visited Eltham Palace, but am recommending it to those who haven’t.  I wanted to go there for years, as soon as I knew it was Art Deco, but it surpassed my expectations. I hadn’t known about its medieval history, so it was a surprise.  We were also surprised about how nice the area was around the Palace, too. Also, in case you are ever in South Devon.  A National Trust house that is perfection: Coleton Fishacre, near Dartmouth.  A combination of the Arts & Crafts movement and Art Deco.

Martine Guy ● 3d

Yes Martine. I know the church well and Surbiton station too. The design period of between the wars is of particular interest. So much  design development  along with so much else was lost in that conflict

Katrina Black ● 3d

Katrina, thank you so much for this recommendation.  We will definitely visit because my husband and I both have french ancestry.  Ì didn’t know about the French Institute, but I knew there was a French Lycee at South Kensington. On a French note, can I recommend the beautiful little French church off Leicester Square: the Church of Notre Dame de France.  There are murals by Jean Cocteau. Re: Richmond Station, it was designed by the lead architect for Southern Railways, James Robb Scott, who also designed the wonderful Art Deco Surbiton Station.  I really love Art Deco and wish we had more of it in this country.

Martine Guy ● 3d

Richmond station has always been a joy, especially seen from a bus. I do like the exterior.I know you like that period , so I wondered if you know about the French Institute at South Ken. We often go to Cine Lumiere there and there is a Gavette restaurant too. You can just pop in for a glass of wine without going to the cinema. I think you'd enjoy that building  it dates from 1939 but the interior  brings smiles.

Katrina Black ● 3d