h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My wife and I were down in London for a few days this week for our Birthdays and our local underground station (i.e. the one nearest the hotel) was Gloucester Road.

We obviously used this station a lot and noticed something strange about the tiles on the wall in the Picadilly Line section of the station - there are some old tiles (half covered by the large posters on the tube) that seem to suggest that the station was called Finsbury Park. The only letters that are visible are "SBURY PAR".

Does anyone know if Gloucester Road used to be called Finsbury Park? If it didn't, why are those tiles there. I have a photo of the tiles. If anyone wants a copy, please let me know.

When what we now call the Picadilly line was first opened in 1906 it was called the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway which ran between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park. To help travellers board trains heading in the right direction, on many stations the wall tiles directly opposite the platform entrance incorporated the legend "trains to Finsbury Park" or "trains to Hammersmith" as appropriate. In most cases these tiles were subsequently covered over either with advertising hoardings or by new enamel signage to cater for subsequent line extensions.