Petrol – Store and Ridgmount Streets, Bloomsbury, London, England

Bloomsbury Service Station was possibly the oldest petrol station in London and it closed in 2008 after a failed attempt to gain listed status. The artwork by Brian James was commissioned by The Bedford Estates who own much of the land in this area. It is a snapshot of the history of the Bedford family in Bloomsbury and shows the original Ridgmount Petrol Station as it was in the 1920s. Also visible is a a Bedford van, sports car in the Bedford family horseracing colours (purple with white stripe) and biplane in homage to Mary Duchess of Bedford who was an aviator in the 1920s and 1930s, having learned to fly in her 60s and who disappeared in 1937 while on a solo flight. Because it closed so recently, we are very lucky to have a clear idea of what this structure looked like as a service station and you can see a photo here. The glass fronted curve above covers much of what would once have been the station forecourt.