Paddington is anarea in theCity of Westminster, in central London, England.[1] A medieval parish then ametropolitan borough of theCounty of London, it was integrated with Westminster andGreater London in 1965.Paddington station, designed by the engineerIsambard Kingdom Brunel opened in 1847. It is also the site ofSt Mary's Hospital and the formerPaddington Green Police Station.
Paddington Waterside aims to regenerate former railway and canal land. Districts within Paddington areMaida Vale,Westbourne andBayswater includingLancaster Gate.
The earliest extant references toPadington (or "Padintun", as in theSaxon Chartularies, 959[2]),historically a part ofMiddlesex, appear in the documentation of purported tenth-century land grants to the monks of Westminster byEdgar the Peaceful as confirmed byArchbishop Dunstan. However, the documents' provenance is much later and likely to have been forged after the 1066Norman Conquest. There is no mention of the place (or Westbourne or Knightsbridge) in theDomesday Book of 1086.[3]
It has been reasonably speculated that a Saxon settlement led by the followers ofPadda, an Anglo-Saxon chieftain, was located around the intersection of the northern and western Roman roads, corresponding with theEdgware Road (Watling Street) and theHarrow andUxbridge Roads.[4][5] From the tenth century, Paddington was owned byWestminster Abbey which was later confirmed by thePlantagenet kings in a charter from 1222. This charter mentions a chapel and a farm situated in the area.[5] A 12th-century document cited by the clericIsaac Maddox (1697–1759) establishes that part of the land was held by brothers "Richard and William de Padinton".[6] They and their descendants carried out activities in Paddington; these were known by records dating from 1168 to 1485. They were the earliest known tenant farmers of the land.[5]
During KingHenry VIII'sdissolution, the property of Paddington was seized by the crown. However, KingEdward VI granted the land to theBishop of London in 1550. Successive bishops would later lease farmlands to tenants and city merchants. One such, in the 1540s, wasThomas North, who translated Plutarch'sParallel Lives into English in 1579. Shakespeare would later use this work and was said to have performed in taverns along Edgware Road.[5]
In the laterElizabethan and earlyStuart era, the rectory, manor and associated estate houses were occupied by the Small (or Smale) family. Nicholas Small was a clothworker who was sufficiently well connected to haveHolbein paint a portrait of his wife,Jane Small. Nicholas died in 1565 and his wife married again, to Nicholas Parkinson of Paddington who became master of theClothworkers' Company. Jane Small continued to live in Paddington after her second husband's death, and her manor house was big enough to have been let to Sir John Popham, the attorney general, in the 1580s. They left the building that became in this timeBlowers Inn.[7]
As the regional population grew in the 17th century, Paddington's ancientHundred ofOssulstone was split into divisions;Holborn Division replaced the hundred for most administrative purposes.[8] A church, the predecessor ofSt Mary was built in Paddington in 1679.[9]
In 1740, John Frederick leased the estate in Paddington and it is from his granddaughters and their families that many of Paddington's street names are derived.[5] TheNew Road was built in 1756–7 to link the villages of Paddington and Islington.[10]: 260 By 1773, acontemporary historian felt and wrote that "London may now be said to include two cities (London andWestminster), one borough (Southwark) and forty six antient [ancient] villages [among which]... Paddington and [adjoining] Marybone (Marylebone)."[9]During the 18th century, several FrenchHuguenots called Paddington village home. These included jewellers, nobility and skilled craftsmen; and men such asClaudius Amyand (surgeon to KingGeorge II). The French nobility built magnificent gardens that lasted up until the 19th century.[5]
Roman roads formed the parish's northeastern and southern boundaries fromMarble Arch:Watling Street (laterEdgware Road) and; (the) Uxbridge road, known by the 1860s in this neighbourhood asBayswater Road. They weretoll roads in much of the 18th century, before and after the dismantling of theTyburn gallows "tree" at their junction in 1759, a junction now known as Marble Arch.[11]: p.174 The Tyburn gallows might have been a reason why expansion and urban development (from London) slowed in Paddington, as public execution was taking place there up until 1783.[5]
Only from 1801 did major construction in Paddington occur, stimulated when the bishops leased land to theGrand Junction Canal, which formed a direct trade link between London and theMidlands, bringing more employment to the area, though some of the trade continued along theRegent's Canal when that was opened in 1820. Construction and building projects took place across the parish throughout the 19th century, increasing its population rapidly, overtaking the village scene of Paddington. The population increased from 1,881 to 46,305 between 1801 and 1851, with 10,000 new inhabitants added every decade thereafter.[5]
Paddington station first opened in 1838, with the first underground line in 1863 (Metropolitan).[5] Paddington was one of the few districts in London that had a migrant majority population by 1881.[10]: 416 , with a thriving Greek and Jewish community present in the mid-19th century. During the period, several Victorian churches were demolished owing to structural decay. Victorian housing developed into slums, giving the area an unsavoury reputation.
In the 1930s massive rebuilding and improvements projects were made. However, even as late as the 1950s Paddington was a byword for overcrowding, poverty and vice. Between the 1960s and 1980s, the area would see vast improvements and redevelopments in city planning.[5]
The southeast section of Tyburnia used to be a shanty-town in the 1790s before the Canal was built and brought much needed employment to its inhabitants. The area was built up during the course of theNapoleonic Wars.[5]
In the 19th century the part of the parish most sandwiched between Edgware Road andWestbourne Terrace,Gloucester Terrace andCraven Hill, bounded to the south by Bayswater Road, was known as Tyburnia. The district formed the centrepiece of an 1824 masterplan bySamuel Pepys Cockerell to redevelop the Tyburn Estate (historic lands of the Bishop of London) into a residential area to rivalBelgravia.[12]
The area was laid out in the mid-1800s when grand squares and cream-stuccoed terraces started to fill the acres between Paddington station and Hyde Park; however, the plans were never realised in full. Despite this, Thackeray described the residential district of Tyburnia as "the elegant, the prosperous, the polite Tyburnia, the most respectable district of the habitable globe."[13]
Derivation of the name is uncertain. Speculative explanations includePadre-ing-tun (explained as "father's meadow village"),Pad-ing-tun ("pack-horse meadow village"),[14] andPæding-tun ("village of the race of Pæd")[15] the last being the cited suggestion of the Victorian Anglo-Saxon scholarJohn Mitchell Kemble.
There is another Paddington inSurrey, recorded in theDomesday Book as "Padendene"[16] and later as "Paddingdon", perhaps to be derived fromOld Englishdene, denu "valley", whereas Paddington in Middlesex is commonly traced back to Old Englishtūn "farm, homestead, town". Both place names share the same first part, a personal name rendered asPad(d)a, of uncertain origin, giving "Padda's valley" for the place in Surrey and "homestead of Padda's people" for the place in Middlesex.[2] That both place names would refer to the same individual or ancient family,[17] is pure speculation. A lord named Padda is named in the Domesday Book, associated withBrampton, Suffolk.[18]
An 18th-century dictionary gives "Paddington Fair Day. An execution day, Tyburn being in the parish or neighbourhood of Paddington. To dance the Paddington frisk; to be hanged."[19] Public executions were abolished in England in 1868.[20]
The Paddington district is centred aroundPaddington railway station. The conventional recognised boundary of the district is much smaller than the longstanding pre-mid-19th century parish. That parish was virtually equal to the borough abolished in 1965. It is divided from a northern offshootMaida Vale by theRegent's Canal; its overlap is the artisan and touristic neighbourhood ofLittle Venice. In the east of the district aroundPaddington Green it remains divided fromMarylebone by Edgware Road (as commonly heard in spoken form, theEdgware Road). In the south west it is bounded by its south and western offshootBayswater. A final offshoot,Westbourne, rises to the north west.
Paddington was part of theMetropolitan Borough of Paddington, the headquarters of which was atPaddington Town Hall, until 1965 when the area became part of the enlargedCity of Westminster.[21]
A lagoon created in the 1810s at the convergence of thePaddington Arm of theGrand Union Canal, theRegent's Canal and thePaddington Basin. It is an important focal point of theLittle Venice area. It is reputedly named afterRobert Browning, the poet. More recently known as the "Little Venice Lagoon" it contains a small islet known as Browning's Island. Although Browning was thought to have coined the name "Little Venice" for this spot there are strong argumentsLord Byron was responsible.[22]
Paddington station is the iconic landmark associated with the area. In the station are statues of its designer,Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and thechildren's fiction characterPaddington Bear.
The terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal was originally known as the Paddington Basin and all the land to the south was developed into housing and commercial property and titled The Grand Junction Estate. The majority of the housing was bounded by Praed Street,Sussex Gardens, Edgware Road and Norfolk Place. Land and buildings not used for the canal undertaking remained after 1929 with the renamed Grand Junction Company, which functioned as a property company. While retaining its own name, it was taken over in 1972 by the Amalgamated Investment and Property Company, which went into liquidation in 1976. Prior to the liquidation the Welbeck Estate Securities Group acquired the entire estate comprising 525 houses 15 shops and the Royal Exchange public House in Sale Place.
The surrounding area is now known as Merchant Square. A formertransshipment facility, the surrounds of thecanal basin named Merchant Square have been redeveloped to provide 2,000,000 sq ft (190,000 m2) of offices, homes, shops and leisure facilities.[23] The redeveloped basin has some innovative features includingHeatherwicks Rolling Bridge, the Merchant Square Fan Bridge and the Floating Pocket Park.[24]
Situated to the north of the railway as it enters Paddington station, and to the south of the Westway flyover and with the canal to the east the former railway goods yard has been developed into a modern complex with wellbeing, leisure, retail and leisure facilities.[25] The public area from the canal to Sheldon Square with the amphitheatre hosts leisure facilities and special events.[26]
A green space and conservation area in the east of the Paddington district immediately to the north of theWestway and west of Edgware Road. It includesSt Mary on Paddington Green Church. The Paddington Green campus of theCity of Westminster College is adjacent to the Green.Paddington Green Police Station is immediately to the north west of the intersection of Westway and Edgware Road.
Paddington station is on theLondon Underground andNational Rail networks. It is inLondon fare zone 1.[27]
Great Western Railway services from Paddington run towardsSlough,Maidenhead andReading, with intercity services continuing towards destinations inSouth West England andSouth Wales, includingOxford,Worcester,Bristol,Cardiff,Exeter,Plymouth andPenzance.[28]
TheElizabeth line, operated byTransport for London (TfL), runs a stopping service from Paddington to Reading, either as part of through-running services from the central and eastern parts of the Elizabeth line or starting from Paddington. These trains mostly depart from the deep-level Elizabeth line platforms underneath the western side of the mainline station. These deep-level Elizabeth line tracks emerge above ground adjacent to the mainline tracks just west ofRoyal Oak tube station and join them at that point, thereafter sharing the relief line tracks with someGreat Western Railway stopping services as far as the Elizabeth line terminus at Reading. Elizabeth line services link the Paddington area both to destinations in west London andBerkshire and to the centre and eastern side of London.
Trains toHeathrow Airport also depart from Paddington, operated both by the Elizabeth line (stopping services viaEaling Broadway) and theHeathrow Express (no intermediate stops).[27][28]
There are two London Underground (tube) stations in the Paddington station complex.
TheBakerloo,Circle andDistrict lines call at thestation on Praed Street (which, from the main concourse, is opposite platform 3). This links Paddington directly to destinations acrossCentral and West London, includingBaker Street,Earl's Court,Oxford Circus,South Kensington,Victoria,Waterloo,Westminster andWimbledon.[27]
The Circle andHammersmith & City lines call at the station near thePaddington Basin (to the north of platform 12). Trains from this station link the area directly to Hammersmith viaShepherd's Bush to the west. Eastbound trains pass through Baker Street,King's Cross St Pancras,Liverpool Street in theCity,Whitechapel andBarking.[27]
Lancaster Gate tube station is also in the area, served byCentral line trains.[27]
Paddington station was designed byIsambard Kingdom Brunel. The permanent building opened in 1854.
Paddington Bear was also named after the station; inMichael Bond's 1958 bookA Bear Called Paddington, Paddington is found at the station by the Brown family. He is lost, having just arrived in London from "darkestPeru."
London Buses7,23,27,36,46,205 and332, and night busesN7 andN205 serve Paddington station. Buses 23, 27 and 36 operate 24 hours, daily.[29]
Routes94 and148 serve Lancaster Gate station to the south of Paddington. Both routes operate 24 hours, daily, supplemented by route N207 at nights.[30]
Several key routes pass through or around the Paddington area, including:
Cycling infrastructure is provided in Paddington byTransport for London (TfL) and theCanal & River Trust.
Several cycle routes pass through the area, including:
Sustrans also propose thatNational Cycle Route 6 (NCR 6) will begin at Paddington and run northwest along the Grand Union Canal towpath. The route, when complete, will run signposted and unbroken toKeswick, Cumbria. Within the M25, the route will pass through Hayes,Uxbridge andWatford.[34]
Santander Cycles, a London-wide bike sharing system, operates in Paddington, with several docking stations in the area.[35]
ThePaddington Arm of theGrand Union Canal runs from Paddington toHayes, viaWestbourne Park andWillesden. Beyond Hayes, onward destinations includeSlough, theColne Valley, andAylesbury. ThePaddington Basin is in the area, as isLittle Venice. A towpath runs unbroken from Paddington to Hayes.[36]
The Rolling Bridge at the Paddington Basin was designed byThomas Heatherwick, who wanted to create a bridge that, instead of breaking apart to let boats through, would "get out of the way" instead. Heatherwick's website cites the "fluid, coiling tails of the animatronic dinosaurs ofJurassic Park" as the initial influence behind the Bridge.[37]
TheRegent's Canal begins at Little Venice, heading east towardsMaida Vale,Regent's Park,Camden Town,King's Cross,Old Street andMile Enden route toLimehouse. A towpath runs along the canal from Paddington to Limehouse, broken only by theMaida Hill andIslington tunnels.[38]
Commercial traffic on theGrand Junction Canal (which became theGrand Union Canal in 1929) dwindled because of railway competition in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and freight then moved from rail to road after World War II, leading to the abandonment of the goods yards in the early 1980s. The land lay derelict until thePaddington Waterside Partnership was established in 1998 to co-ordinate the regeneration of the area between the Westway, Praed Street and Westbourne Terrace. This includes major developments on the goods yard site (now branded Paddington Central) and around the canal (Paddington Basin). As of October 2017[update] much of these developments have been completed and are in use.[39]
PaddingtonNow BID put forward a renewal bid in 2017 covering the period April 2018 to March 2023, which would be supported by a levy on local businesses. Development schemes for St. Mary's Hospital and Paddington Square are likely to commence in this period, and the impact of the opening of theElizabeth line in 2018 would be soon felt.[39]
Paddington has a number ofAnglican churches, includingSt James's,St Mary Magdalene, St David's Welsh Church and St Peter's. In addition, there is a large Muslim population in and around Paddington.
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Between 1805 and 1817, the great actressSarah Siddons lived at Desborough House,[42] (which was demolished before 1853 to make way for the Great Western Railway) and was buried atPaddington Green, near the later graves of the eminent paintersBenjamin Haydon andWilliam Collins.[43]: p.183 Her brotherCharles Kemble also built a house, Desborough Lodge, in the vicinity—in which she may have lived later.[11]: p.230 In later years, the actressYootha Joyce, best known for her part in the classic television comedyGeorge and Mildred, lived at 198 Sussex Gardens.[44]
One ofNapoleon's nephews, PrinceLouis Lucien Bonaparte (1813–1891), a notablecomparative linguist anddialectologist, who spent most of his adult life in England, had a house in Norfolk Terrace, Westbourne Park.[11]: p.200
The eccentric philanthropistAnn Thwaytes lived at 17 Hyde Park Gardens between 1840 and 1866.[45][46]
TheVictorian poetRobert Browning moved from No. 1 Chichester Road to Beauchamp Lodge, 19Warwick Crescent, in 1862 and lived there until 1887.[11]: pp.199 He is reputed to have named that locality, on the junction of two canals, "Little Venice". But this has been disputed by Lord Kinross in 1966[47][22] and more recently by londoncanals.uk[48] who both assert thatLord Byron humorously coined the name. The name is now applied, more loosely, to a longer reach of the canal system.
St Mary's Hospital inPraed Street is the site of several notable medical accomplishments. In 1874,C. R. Alder Wright synthesisedheroin (diacetylmorphine). Also there, in 1928, SirAlexander Fleming first isolatedpenicillin, earning the award of a Nobel Prize. The hospital has an Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum[49] where visitors can see Fleming's laboratory, restored to its 1928 condition, and explore the story of Fleming and the discovery and development of penicillin through displays and video.
Edward Wilson, physician,naturalist andornithologist, who died in 1912 onCaptain Robert Scott's ill-fatedBritish Antarctic expedition, had earlier practised as a doctor in Paddington. The former Senior Street primary school was renamed theEdward Wilson School after him in 1951.[11]: pp.266
British painterLucian Freud had his studio in Paddington, first at Delamere Terrace from 1943 to 1962, and then at 124 Clarendon Crescent from 1962 to 1977.[50]
Timothy Forsyte ofJohn Galsworthy'sThe Forsyte Saga and other relatives resided in Bayswater Road.[51]
Paddington Bear, from "deepest, darkestPeru", emigrated to England via Paddington station.[52]
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