At the turn of the century, when the railways came, the Rayners Lane area was still very rural.
Building The Railway
The Metropolitan Railway opened a branch to Uxbridge in 1904 and Rayners Lane station opened as Rayners Lane Halt on 26th May 1906. It was however no more than a hut with a few planks for a platform in a rural area and was seemingly pointless. It was once described as “the loneliest station on the Metropolitan Railway, apparently unfriended, unvisited and untrod” as well as being known as ‘Pneumonia Junction’ due to the winds coming in from the Chilterns.
Although the Rayners’ cottage was the only building in the area at the time, The Metropolitan Railway was already buying up land in the area for future development. Unlike other railway companies, which were required to dispose of surplus land, The Metropolitan Railway was in a privileged position with clauses allowing it to retain land that it believed was necessary for future use. The company believed housing development could provide a long-term source of income, luring the wealthy out to the ‘countryside’ with cheaper season tickets. In 1887, the ‘Metropolitan Surplus Lands Committee’ was formed to manage the company property that was intended for development.
In 1910, the District Line services started calling at the station, via a junction connecting the station with South Harrow and allowing services on that line to operate up to Uxbridge. But at that time the area was still not being developed for housing. This route was transferred over to the Piccadilly Line in 1933.
The last Daniel Hill died in 1906 and his heirs sold the land to Metropolitan Railways in the 1920s.
The Uxbridge branch of the Metropolitan Line had been overwhelmed by the housing developments of the early 1930s, and most of the old stations were in urgent need of improvement. The phenomenal increase in the use of Rayners Lane station had outstripped the capacity of the Metropolitan’s timber booking hut and corrugated-iron shelters on wooden platforms.
A larger, temporary wooden ticket hall was in service from 14th March 1935, and work began on a new station.
Rayners Lane Underground station was designed by New Zealand architect Reginald Uren, and opened in 1938, 5 years after the Piccadilly line was extended there. Uren drew heavily on designs by Charles Holden at Sudbury Town and Sudbury Hill.
Uren’s original design was altered by Charles Holden bringing it further into the street, which allowed easier access to and from the station.
Rayners Lane Station is surprisingly unaltered and maintains original doors and exterior and interior signage.
The building was awarded Grade II-listed status on 17 May 1994.
Rayners Lane 