THE current opposition to plans to erect a cantilevered, 16-storey tower over the concourse of Liverpool Street Station is the latest in a series of stand-offs across the decades to protect the best of London’s railway architecture. At the time of writing, the scheme was opposed by eight conservation groups and Historic England. A public petition, See it, Say It, Save It!, had more than 11,000 signatures. A Victorian Society-led Liverpool Street Station Campaign (Athena, May 10), with Griff Rhys Jones installed as president, has revived memories of the 1970s battle at Liverpool Street, spearheaded by Sir John Betjeman, which eventually ended in a remodelling widely applauded for its sensitivity towards the historic fabric.
It’s worth remembering that the great described it as ‘the most curiously uplifting’ of London’s stations after a highly effective upgrading by Grimshaw Architects in 2019 (winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize). Technically second in seniority, Euston (1837), is a heritage bypass. The demolition of Philip Hardwick’s Great Hall and Euston Arch (the station’s original neo-Classical entrance), together with the rest of the station’s front buildings between 1961–63, was a galvanising event for the built conservation movement. All that remains of the formal layout of the old station are the entrance lodges (Grade II listed).
