A Series of Haunting Hitchcock Mosaics Hidden in an East London Tube Station

Join me as I explore the Alfred Hitchcock mosaics buried in the nicotine-stained murk of the Leytonstone tube station underpass

Sometimes I notice an interesting thing but don’t actually stop, like I’m on an invisible conveyor belt. I think this is a feature of modern life. So much stuff constantly, everywhere. Repeat exposure blends the beautiful things around us into the background music of the daily slog, until they almost become invisible.

I do notice little things, perhaps that’s what draws me to photography, but I know I can take my local environment for granted. I want to be less conveyor-belty and pause more often, even when it feels uncomfortable. Appreciating the small things is an infinite well of pleasure.

Something that really moved me, yesterday, are the Hitchcock mosaics in Leytonstone tube station’s underpass.

They were designed and put together by a team of artists: Steve Lobb, Nathan Lobb, Carol Kenna, Claire Notley and Julie Norburn at the Greenwich Mural Workshop. They were a Waltham Forest Council public art project to celebrate Hitchcock’s 1899 - 1999 birth centenary and were officially finished on 3 May 2001.

Most are scenes from well-known Hitchcock films but I love that they’re not freeze-frames. They capture the essence but there’s a surrealist element which gives them a beautiful, unsettling quality.

Hitchcock was born at 517 High Road, Leytonstone (now a petrol station)

Leytonstone is the area in East London where Hitchcock grew up. Sadly his old house is now a grim-looking petrol station but you can see little clues and nods to him everywhere.

There’s a big hotel named after him, The Alfred Hitchcock Hotel, paintings on buildings that reference his films and until recently even a pub called ‘The Birds’. For people who’ve lived here a long time there is a real pride that he is one of theirs.

In the 10 or so years I’ve lived nearby and walked up and down these streets, I’ve always been fascinated by these curious mosaics. There is something about the colours and expressions that give them a fever dream quality.

But they are placed in an odd, slightly awkward location in an underpass that takes you from street level to the entrance of the Leytonstone tube station.

I say awkward is because this underpass is the kind of place you want to get in and out of as quickly as possible.

It always smells faintly of piss. It’s dimly lit. It’s grubby and there’s usually litter strewn everywhere. The walkway is ridiculously narrow, which means you can’t really stop and look if anyone is nearby you because you’ll block the path.

The station is not a particularly happy corner of Leytonstone and typically there will be 2 or 3 people sleeping or seeking respite here, and lots of drugs.

This combination means that most of the pedestrians walking past are hurried and harried. They’re usually going to or from home or work and just want to get where they’re going. NO TIME FOR ALL THIS ART NONSENSE.

But it is worth a pause. Today when I went for a walk to clear my head it was unusually quiet and there were just a trickle of commuters.

I thought I would try to stop, take my time and appreciate these murals because I personally think they exquisite.

There is something ghoulish and haunting but at the same time intricate and Art Deco about them. Like snapshots from a pixelated Great Gatsby horror movie.

The lighting in this underpass is terrible. Just enough light to see where you’re going but not dark enough to hide the chicken shop wrappers and fag butts.

But… today I noticed the light accentuates the mosaics. The light doesn’t bounce off them as awkwardly as it might do in full sun, which gives them a more filmic quality.

Initially I took just one photograph as a little keepsake but as I was walking off I thought I’d do my best to capture all 17 and share them here for anyone who is interested.

I’ll give you the address of the mosaics below (spoiler: it’s Leytonstone Tube Station underpass) so that if they pique your interest, and you’re in London, you can visit them for yourself.

If not, and if you’re in a faraway land, hopefully these images gives you a flavour.

I haven’t captured the entirety of each mosaic in these frames. I realise this is a bit like sharing an image of the Mona Lisa’s earlobe but because I wanted to keep the images as clean as possible.

The little light that does exist in this dim underpass comes from the kind of strobe bulbs you get in municipal buildings and reflects awkwardly off some of the mosaics.

So I’ve filled the frame with what I could without getting too much nasty glare, or in some cases angled down.

There are also mosaics which wrap around corners or columns and so in these cases I have angled a little to the side to try and fill the frame.

I’m telling you this out of respect for the artists but also so that you have even more reason to visit them in person and see them in their full glory.

I’ve been smacked with an unexpected wave of nostalgia recently. I’ve found myself walking slowly through old haunts, as if returning, wistfully, after 30 years stranded at sea.

We’re preparing to leave London, for a life in the countryside. It’s our last stretch after 10 years in this area (and for me a lifetime in London), so I’ve found I’m looking at everything again with new eyes.

Probably these mosaics would have been better installed in a beautiful park or public space where they could be lingered over and appreciated and talked about.

But that’s one of the magical things about London. You can spend several lifetimes here and still discover - or truly appreciate for the first time - a wonderful thing that had been lurking in a dim underpass.

So this is my token of appreciation for these artworks.

They probably have one of the highest footfalls in Western Europe for an art display.

People funnel through here in their thousands every day. Yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone stop and look them.

If you’re interested in where they are, and how to get to them, I’ve shared a few details below.

Where to Find the Mosaics

If you want to see them in person your best bet is to take the tube at head to:

Leytonstone Tube Station.

Leytonstone tube is on the Central line which goes from West to East London and right through the centre. You can change onto the Central line easily from the Elizabeth line too at Stratford, which is only a couple of stops away.

(I’ve bolded Leytonstone Tube Station because there are a few Leyton/Leytonstones, including some rail stations, and to confuse things further, Leyton Tube Station).

As you get off the train you will find the mosaics in the underpass as you walk out of the exit. Be sure to walk out of both exits as they cover both sides.

Leytonstone tube station, like a lot of tube stations around the world, has its challenges. When I took this photo below, it was dead quiet, and for a few seconds no-one walked by.

This is unusual though, more often that not all of London is rushing past. Unless you’ve got a bit of time to linger, it’s probably a place to explore as part of a wider visit to the area. This is the view of the underpass from inside the tube station and a more typical scene.

Leytonstone often gets the dubious ‘up and coming’ label but it has real charm and history. There are good Indian and Thai restaurants here, good charity (thrift) shops, some decent boozers and wonderful green spaces if you fancy a walk.

The Red Lion is an excellent (and huge) pub nearby with beautiful Victorian features. Hollow Pond and Leyton Flats are easy to get to on foot and you could also stop by the Alfred Hitchcock hotel while you’re there.

If you’re interested, the mosaics show the following…

There are 3 personal life mosaics: A young Hitchcock outside his father’s shop, Hitchcock ‘the director’ and Hitchcock with Marlene Dietrich.

Then the following are from this films: Suspicion, Psycho, The Skin Game, North by Northwest, The Pleasure Garden, Strangers on a Train, Vertigo, Saboteur, The Birds, To Catch a Thief, Rebecca, The Wrong Man and Rear Window.

I’d be interested to see if you can spot which are which!

I hope you enjoyed this little journey to the Hitchcock mosaics. They are one of London’s hidden treasures and I hope to share more London’s oddities in the future.