Windows and doors on order

On 22nd January the deposit was paid for the manufacture of replica windows and doors for the station.

This is an important milestone, representing probably the biggest single item of expenditure in the whole project.

The order, valued at around £37k, consists of:

  • 8 x sliding sash windows (6 on the car park side and 2 on the platform side)
  • 1 x casement window (on the south end elevation, facing the old Goods Yard)
  • 2 x double opening doors (1 on the car park side and 1 on the platform side)
  • 3 x ‘dummy’ doors (on the platform side)

As far as practical the windows and doors are to be recreated as per the original LNWR drawings, which we now have in our collection, with a few necessary concessions to modern standards and the contemporary use of the building, for example using the dummy doors where having to leave them as opening doors would otherwise compromise the seating capacity of the building. Viewed from the outside, however, we aim to make the restoration as true to the original design as possible.

Both the windows and the doors will be made from hardwood. The sliding sash windows will have traditional weights and pulley mechanisms, double glazing and laminated / toughened glass for security. Some window panes will be ‘obscured satin’, just like the originals, for privacy purposes. All the woodwork will be painted in a Mahogony colour (RAL 8016), which, after extensive research, is thought to be the closest colour to the original scheme, but it’s impossible to be 100% sure! Brass locks on all the windows / doors, and working ‘hinged quadrant fanlights’ above the dummy doors, will be the icing on the cake.

After a competitive tender, Knockout Joinery of Luton were chosen as the supplier for this ‘signature’ part of the build, having an excellent reputation for bespoke joinery in traditional settings.