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Historic cartouches return to London's South Bank

20 March 2012

We've begun work to reinstall two 16-tonne historic iron plates bearing the insignia of the London, Dover and Chatham Railway that once served Blackfriars.

Manoeuvring the cartouches into position

In 2011, we removed the two 16-tonne cartouches so we could construct a new southern entrance for Blackfriars station. We've now dismanteld and restored the cartouches, and work has begun to reassemble them on site.

The station's heritage

Laurence Whitbourn, our project director for Blackfriars, said: “We’ve had to consider Blackfriars’ history and heritage at every step of the way as we’ve transformed a Victorian railway bridge into a station that spans the River Thames.

“At Blackfriars we’re building a contemporary station designed to provide a better train service for growing numbers of passengers. But we’re not forgetting the station’s heritage. It’s great to see the historic cartouches restored to their former glory and back in place. They’re a testament to the Victorian engineering that has stood Blackfriars in good stead for the past 120 years.”