Praed Street

Praed Street (pronounced 'prayd', rhymes with 'laid') is a street in London's Paddington district (now part of the City of Westminster), most notable for the fact that Paddington Station is situated on it. It runs straight in a west-south-west direction from Edgware Road to Craven Road, Spring Street and Eastbourne Terrace and was originally laid out in the early 19th century, being built up in 1828. It was named after William Praed, Chairman of the company which built the canal basin which lies just to the north.

The northern side of the street is made up of Paddington Station and the Great Western Hotel, the Royal Mail Western depot, and St Mary's Hospital. The southern side is predominantly retail but includes the frontage for Paddington Underground (District and Circle line) station. At the far western end on the north side is a prominent extension to the Metropole Hotel built by Igal Yawetz (1986-90).

From February 19 2007, this road will mark the boundary of the extended London Congestion Charge Zone.

In the works of August Derleth, the detective Solar Pons (a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes) resides at 7B Praed Street with his companion, Dr. Lyndon Parker.

Praed Street plays an important role in the novel (and subsequent BBC mini-series) by Michael Dobbs "House of Cards." In attempting to discredit the sitting PM (Henry Collingridge) Chief Whip Francis Urquhart has a fictitious accommodation address set up at a news agent at 132 Praed Street under the name of C. Collingridge and then has false and incriminating mail and party literature sent to him at this address. Urquhart knows in advance that Charles Collingridge is the only C. Collingridge in the London directory and therefore uses this scandal to eventually push the PM out and take the position for himself. Charles "goodtime Charlie" Collingridge never in fact knew anything about it, to the point of being shocked that people would actually pay for party literature which he describes as "vile stuff." In the end the most incriminating mail sent to the Praed Street address was a bank receipt from the "Ottoman Union Bank" for the sale of some shares that had skyrocketed in price due to the UK government's approval days earlier of new medicines. Henry Collingridge resigned as PM, Charlie Collingridge got put in a safe house to dry out from alcoholism and Francis Urquhart became Prime Minister.