History
The City and South London railway opened to passengers between Stockwell and King William Street on 18 December 1890, and was both the first standard gauge tube and the first railway to employ electric traction in London. To avoid disturbance of surface buildings the tube was shield-driven at deep level, and much of the work was done via shafts at station sites which later contained the passenger lifts. The Oval station, opened as Kennington Oval, was designed by Thomas Phillips Figgis with elements of early Arts and Crafts and neo-classical detailing. The structure was made distinctive by a lead-covered dome with cupola lantern and weathervane which housed some of the lift equipment; the main part of the building was of red brick. The station building was rebuilt in the early 1920s when the line was modernised and was refurbished during late 2007/early 2008 at street level with a modern tiling scheme inside and out, giving the station a more modern look. Reflecting its proximity to the cricket ground, the internal decorative tiling features large images of cricketers in various stances.
Oval tube station was the intended site of one of the attempted London bombings on 21 July 2005.
Read more about this topic: Oval Tube Station
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