The Location & History of Bayswater & Paddington

Extending from Queensway in the west, Bayswater Road in the south, Edgware Road to the east and the Westway in the north modern day Bayswater/Paddington is a diverse and mixed area dominated in recent times by Paddington station and Regents Canal.

The name Bayswater is believed derive from Bayard's Watering Place, recorded in 1380, which was where the stream later called the Bayswater rivulet or Westbourne passed under the Uxbridge road. The name presumably denoted a place where horses were refreshed, either from the stream itself or from a spring such as the one in Conduit field which from 1439 supplied the City with water. There were several variations of the name, Bayswatering being common in the 18th century, although the form Bayswater occurred as early as 1659.

Bayswater was a small rural hamlet and it grew gradually during the 17th century and more rapidly in the 18th culminating with the opening of canal, rail and road systems in the early 19th century. Architecturally, the biggest part of the area is made up of Georgian stucco terraces and garden squares, mostly, although not exclusively, have now been divided up into flats. The property ranges from very expensive apartments to small studio flats. There are also purpose built apartment blocks dating from the inter-war period as well as more recent developments, and a large Council Estate, the 800 flat Hallfield Estate, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and now largely sold off. In the south east, adjacent to Marble Arch is Connaught Village, a hidden secret waiting to be discovered with delightful original Georgian shop fronts there is a wide range of art galleries, fashion boutiques, jewellers, interiors specialists, beauty salons and hairdressers and restaurants offering cuisine from around the world.

Sitting alongside Regents Canal and Paddington station is St Mary’s Hospital where Sir Alexander Fleming first discovered Penicillin. While behind and to the east of the hospital is one of London’s most ambitious regeneration projects – Paddington Basin – a mix of residential apartments and commercial offices, formed around Regents Canal and Quay with pleasant canal-side walks and plazas.

The area has a history of multiethnicity. French Huguenots settled in the village of Paddington in the 18th century, and in subsequent generations there were arrivals of Greek, Jewish, and Asian groups. Arab communities later became established along Edgware Road.

Paddington Station (1854) serves the western region of British Rail, linking London and its western suburbs with South Wales and Bristol. The iron-and-glass-embellished station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was the chief engineer of the Great Western Railway. To the northwest of the station is Little Venice, a fashionable enclave on the Regent's (Grand Union) Canal.