VICTORIAN METTLE – The Architecture of Paddington & Bayswater

In the 19th century, Paddington + Bayswater exploded into being. Once rural outliers their rapid development exemplified the confident spirit and ingenuity of the mid-Victorian city. Defined by the Great Western Railway’s mighty terminus, the districts were built out from the 1840s with colossal avenues of classical terraces that were cut through and under by the world’s earliest underground railway. Cosmopolitan and overcrowded, in the 20th century both were subject to redevelopment and neglect. Today grand relics of the boom years sit alongside midcentury modernism and the burgeoning forms of 21st century gentrification. Uncovering hidden urban layers, this walk explores Paddington and Bayswater through their best architecture and shifting metropolitan characters.

A walk by The London Ambler - Mike Althorpe