Of key interest to TAG is the heritage which forms the foundations for our cities, and its citizens. Wherever possible we wish to acknowledge the values of times gone by. That is the basis for our Palace Gates Project.
On 7th October 1878 the Great Eastern Railway Company opened a line which ran through Noel Park and Palace Gates (Wood Green). This line ran in competition to the Great Northern Railway line, from Kings Cross, and linked to Alexandra Palace. It was closed on 7th January 1963, after competition from the new Piccadilly Line extension to Cockfosters killed off its passenger traffic.
In 2012, as part of Sustran's DIY Streets Turnpike Lane, a memorial to the Palace Gates line was created in the form of two sections of steel track, set into the paving at Langham Place; adjoining the Mannock Road Allotments - whose plots run along the very land which once saw steam trains whistling to and fro.
Our Palace Gates Project is formed from two parts. Part I concerns colour memory - and the trackside semaphore signals which once directed the train drivers through this section of track. We have adopted the red and white STOP signal, and yellow and black DISTANT signal; recreating their form in soft, cable-tie forms, spanning the tracks. We thank Mannock Road Allotments for allowing us to transform their boundary railings.
Incorporating the original detailing from the Palace Gates Station, TAG will be decorating the side wall of an electricity sub station. For this we have carefully consulted with UK Power Networks and Haringey Council, both of whom generously gave their permission for this artwork to proceed.
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