Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district located west-northwest of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Kensington Gardens and having a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre. It is between Paddington and north-west, and Notting Hill to the east. Bayswater is one of London's most cosmopolitan areas: a diverse local population is augmented by a high concentration of hotels. In addition to the English, there are many other nationalities. Notable ethnic groups include Greeks, French, Americans, Brazilians, Italians, Irish, Arabs, and many others. The streets and garden squares are lined with Victorian stucco terraces, mostly now subdivided into flats and boarding houses. Properties range from 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 650-flat Hallfield Estate, designed by Sir Denys Lasdun and now largely sold off. Queensway and Westbourne Grove are its busiest high streets, both having many international ethnic-cuisine restaurants.
History
The land now called Bayswater belonged to the Abbey of Westminster when the Domesday Book was compiled; the most considerable tenant under the abbot was Bainiardus, probably the same Norman associate of the Conqueror who gave his name to Baynard's Castle. The descent of the land held by him cannot be clearly traced: but his name long remained attached to part of it; and, as late as the year 1653, a parliamentary grant of the Abbey or Chapter lands describes "the common field at Paddington" as being "near a place commonly called Baynard's Watering." In 1720, the lands of the Dean and Chapter are described to be the occupation of Alexander Bond, of Bear's Watering, in the same parish of Paddington. It may therefore fairly be concluded that this portion of ground, always remarkable for its springs of excellent water, once supplied water to Baynard, his household, or his cattle; that the memory of his name was preserved in the neighbourhood for six centuries; and that his watering-place now takes the abbreviated name Bayswater.
Notable residents
Damon Albarn
Brett Anderson
Mike Atherton
J. M. Barrie, playwright and novelist, and his wife, Mary, lived at 100 Bayswater Road.
Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of wireless communication, lived at 71 Hereford Road between 1896 and 1897 with his mother upon arrival in England.
Rik Mayall
Stella McCartney
Dermot O'Leary
Irfan Orga, exile and writer, lived at 29, 35 and 21 Inverness Terrace from 1942 until the mid-fifties, publishing his memoirs Portrait of a Turkish Family in 1950.
