Art on the Underground
Accessibility Information: Gloucester Road Station
Exhibition Title: Labyrinth
Artist: Mark Wallinger
Dates: Permanent Instillation
This document has been designed to assist accessibility to and from our exhibition space at Gloucester Road station. If you require any further information or would like to leave feedback about this form, please email us at
Or call us on 020 7027 8694 (Mon-Fri).
Before you start your journey please visit the following links to assist your visit.
See the Current Project Map for station locations for our exhibitions
Weekend closures informs you of weekend closures across the London Underground network.
TFL Journey planner helps you plan your route, from your street to your destination
Travelling by Tube gives useful information and links to help to plan your journey
Accessible Tube maps
Direct Enquiries offers detailed information on access to individual stations, including walking distances between platforms
For further assistance contact London Underground - please contact the Customer Service Centre on 0845 330 9880 (08:00-20:00, seven days a week)
Post: Customer Service Centre, London Underground, 55 Broadway, London SW1H 0BD
Getting to Gloucester Road station
Gloucester Road Underground Station is located on:
Gloucester Rd
London SW7 4SF
Bus Stops
Bus stops are located in front of the main station entrance. Both Gloucester and Cromwell Road are major bus routes.
For more information about bus routes in the area please see the TfL bus maps webpage at: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/
Taxi Rank
A taxi rank is situated within 50 metres of the station entrance, on Courtfield Road.
Drop Off Point
There is no designated drop of point: drivers will have to find a suitable place to stop.
Bike racks
Bike racks are available on the broad pavement before the station.
Parking
On Gloucester Road, there is a disabled parking bay outside St. George’s Court (opposite Elvaston Place) approximately 400 metres from the station. There are pay and display bays outside Barclays bank and St. Stephens Parish Church on Gloucester Road approx. 150 metres away and on Courtfield Road approx. 40 metres away. Please note these bays have limited availability.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has its own disabled badge scheme and the standard blue badge concessions do not apply. Blue badge holders can park in any of 18 spaces.
http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/environmentandtransport/parking/disabledparking/bluebadgeparkingbays.aspx
Pay and display bays.
When a payment is made up to the maximum time allowed one hour’s additional free parking is permitted.
Yellow lines.
Where there is no loading restriction 20 minutes parking is permitted to drop off or pick up a disabled person.
Special Blue Badge parking bays.
Parking on these designated bays is free for up to 4 hours Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 6.30pm, and for any period outside these hours.
Best time to visit
To avoid busy periods please be aware that weekday peak times are around 7am- 9.30am and 4pm-7pm. At weekends there are no peak times. Line closures regularly occur during the weekend; Tube users are advised to check the TFL website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ for the latest travel news on line closures.
If you require any assistance or information, station staff will be located in the station at all times. Help points are located on train platforms and the main ticket hall.
Approach to the station
The crossing immediately in front of the station is controlled by traffic lights and provided with dropped kerbs and tactile brass paving. The station is located less than 100m south of the junction between Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road. It is not advised to cross here as pedestrian crossings, dropped kerbs and tactile pavements are not provided on all sides of the junction.
There is a broad pavement before the station which becomes very congested at certain times due the cafes, market stalls, newspaper stands and the shopping arcade situated next to the station.
Heritage benches are provided around the station; these are low level with no back support and may be of limited use to some people.
Gloucester Road station has two main entrances into the ticket hall; one directly from Gloucester Road and one to the side (near the shopping arcade). The entrance is covered with a lit canopy.
Ticket Hall
Access to the ticket hall is level. The space has bright and natural light and a bright, contrasting colour scheme and geometric patterned tiles.
There are some temporary cordons to manage queues around the ticket office which may create some slight difficulty in navigating around. However there are always Customer Service Assistants on the nearby ticket barriers who can assist.
There are steps from the ticket hall to the East Bound District and Circle line platforms. These are provided with tactile warning surfaces at the top and bottom. The stairs are divided into two by a metal hand rail that runs from top to bottom. There are also handrails on either side of the staircase. The flights are straight with 3 sets of 12 steps, with highlighted step nosings which have worn away.
If you require any assistance or information, station staff will be located in the station at all times. You can ask a member of staff to help you get to the platform. All our staff have regular training on how to assist disabled passengers and will help you as far as it is safe to do so. Help points, offering audio help and information from members of staff are located on train platforms and the main ticket hall.
All persons who wish to see the exhibition must possess a valid travelling ticket, or purchase a ‘platform ticket’ from the ticket office. Platform tickets will allow access to the station and exhibition space for a short period of time, but will not allow train journeys to be made.
Exhibition Space
The Art work is located at ticket hall level, on a wall directly in front of the stairs leading to the east bound District and Circle line.
Accessibility of the exhibition from the trains
Gloucester Road station is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly Lines. On the District and Piccadilly lines the station is between South Kensington and Earl's Court, and on the Circle Line it is between South Kensington and High Street Kensington.
The work can be viewed by customers either at ticket hall level or on the accent to the ticket hall from the east bound platform.
There is no level access to the platforms from the trains.
Seating
There is no seating provided at the ticket hall level, however there is seating on the platforms.
Artist: Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger, one of the UK’s leading contemporary artists, has created a major new artwork for London Underground to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Wishing to forge a poetic link with the Tube’s rich history of graphic language, he has made a work that sits comfortably alongside the two of its major design icons, the roundel and Harry Beck’s Tube map, and yet stands out as a new symbol marking the Tube’s 150th year.
Wallinger explores a diverse range of subjects in his practice, from the historic and mythic to the biographical and contemporary, resulting in works that are layered with rich cultural references for the viewer to discover.
Wallinger’s personal relationship with the Underground has informed his interest in public transport and fuelled a fascination with the idea of being ‘transported’ in an imaginative or spiritual sense. This idea gave rise to the ancient symbol that lies at the heart of this commission: the labyrinth, which represents this idea of the spiritual journey in many different traditions across the globe. For Wallinger, the labyrinth is a fitting analogy for the millions of journeys that are made across the Tube network every day.
Wallinger has created 270 individual artworks, one for each station on the network, each one bearing its own unique circular labyrinth, but with a graphic language common to all. Rendered in bold black, white and red graphics, the artworks are produced in vitreous enamel, a material used for signs throughout London Underground, including the Tube’s roundel logo, whose circular nature the labyrinth design also echoes. Positioned at the entrance of each labyrinth is a red X. This simple mark, drawing on the language of maps, is a cue to enter the pathway. The tactile quality of the artwork’s surface invites the viewer to trace the route with a finger, and to understand the labyrinth as a single meandering path into the centre and back out again – a route reminiscent of the Tube traveller’s journey.
Toilets
There are accessible public toilets in the neighbouring shopping centre.
Fire Safety
An emergency exit is located on the far end of the platforms. Any safety messages will be voiced over the tannoy system. Please follow any instructions given.
Visit our website art.tfl.gov.uk for further information on the exhibition.
To request Braille information about the work please call 0207 027 8694 or email at
HR. 17-9-10 Page 5 of 5