Bayswater Area Guide

An area within the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and belonged to the Abbey of Westminster when the Domesday Book was compiled

Streets & Architecture
The area has attractive streets and garden squares lined with Victorian stucco terraces, mostly now subdivided into 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 650-flat Hallfield Estate, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and now largely sold off. Queensway and Westbourne Grove are its busiest main streets, both offering an array of ethnic-cuisine restaurants and cafes. A more recent development ‘The Lancasters’ was originally an elegant parade of 15 magnificent stucco-fronted Grade II listed houses dating from the mid nineteenth century. Restoration by a leading team of developers, architects and interior designers has created a unique fusion of traditional architecture with brand new design and construction with the majority of the 77 homes face south with views onto or across Hyde Park.

Residents
Bayswater is one of London's most cosmopolitan areas: a diverse local population with many nationalities; in particular a large Greek community around St Sophia's Cathedral, Moscow Road (London's Greek Orthodox Cathedral) a sizeable French community, Americans and also Brazilians have settled here. There is also a prominent middle-eastern population in the neighbouring Edgware Road.

Transport
There are several underground stations serving the area and these are Bayswater, Queensway, Paddington, Royal Oak and Lancaster Gate.

Leisure
Neighbouring Queensway hosts one of London's biggest ice rink, the Queen's Ice & Bowl, recently renovated after investment and development by Robert Bourne (developer) and Bourne Capital. The Porchester Spa dating back to 1929 offers many treatments but also has a ‘turkish-bath’ experience popular with many in the area.

Recent News
It is rumoured that a wealthy Brunei family, has acquired a large part of Queensway, which is bordered by the more prestigious Notting Hill and Kensington areas, in order to redevelop it. The purchases include the Queensway Estate, location of the ice skating rink and Queensway Market, and the Whitley’s shopping centre which was purchased from Standard Life Investments.

We say
This is a good time to be exploring this area as it is designated for redevelopment and gentrification. Prices here in the past have not equalled those of surrounding areas however that now looks set to change. Also Hyde Park is very close by.