Metropolitan Borough of Paddington

Paddington
Paddington within the County of London
Geography
Status	Metropolitan borough
1911 area	1,356 acres (5.49 km2)
1931 area	1,357 acres (5.49 km2)
1961 area	1,355 acres (5.48 km2)
History
Origin	Paddington parish
Created	1900
Abolished	1965
Succeeded by	City of Westminster
Demography
1911 population - 1911 density	142,551 105/acre
1931 population - 1931 density	144,923 107/acre
1961 population - 1961 density	116,923 86/acre
Politics
Governance	Paddington Borough Council
Coat of arms of the borough council

The Metropolitan Borough of Paddington was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965.

History

Its area covered that part of the current City of Westminster west of Edgware Road and Maida Vale, and north of Bayswater Road. Places in the borough included Paddington, Westbourne Green, Bayswater, Maida Hill, West Kilburn, Maida Vale. To the south it bordered the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster, to the east, the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone.

The borough was abolished on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and its former area merged with that of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster and the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone to form the present-day City of Westminster.

Borough council

Coat of arms

Bridge roundel with the original borough seal and the year 1900, including the VR designation for Queen Victoria

The borough council's coat of arms, granted by the College of Arms on 5 April 1902, was based on the former Paddington vestry seal. The seal featured crossed swords from the arms of the See of London passing through a mural crown, symbol of local government. To these were added the wolves' heads and blue background from the arms of the first Mayor of the Borough, Sir John Aird.^[1][2] Sir John, who was member of parliament for Paddington North, also donated the mayoral badge and chain.^[3]

The arms were blazoned as follows:

Azure, two Swords in Saltire proper pommels and hilts Or enfiled with a Mural Crown of the last. Two Wolves heads erased in Chief Argent.^[2][3]

Town Hall

Paddington Town Hall, designed by James Lockyer in the Classical style, dated from 1853.^[4] The building, originally the Vestry Hall, was situated on Paddington Green. It was enlarged in 1900 and 1920. Following its closure in 1965, it was demolished to make way for the Westway urban motorway. The chair used by the Mayors of Paddington at council meetings was preserved, and is currently placed in the hallway at the Council House in Marylebone Road, the current meeting place for Westminster City Council. The war memorial, unveiled in 1924, was moved to the adjacent parish church of St. Mary.^[5]

Area and population

The area of Paddington Metropolitan Borough was 1,357 acres (5.5 km²), once part of Kensal New Town was added after 1901. The population recorded in the Census was:

Civil Parish 1801-1899

Year[6]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Population	1,881	4,609	6,476	14,540	25,173	46,305	75,784	96,813	107,058	117,846

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Year[7]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961
Population	143,976	142,551	144,261	144,923	[8]	125,463	116,923

Note that the population statistics up to 1891 exclude the area of Kensal Town transferred from Chelsea in 1900.

Notable places

• Kensal Green Cemetery
• Paddington Station
• St. Mary's Hospital - where Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin
• St Mary's Church, Paddington Green
• City Of Westminster College (formerly Paddington College)

References

1. ^ Scott-Giles, C Wilfrid (1953). Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition. London: J M Dent & Sons. p. 257. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Crossley, Richard (1928). London's Coats of Arms and the Stories They Tell. London: Robert Scott. pp. 162–164. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Beningfield, T J (1964). London 1900-1964. Armorial bearings and regalia of the London County Council, The Corporation of London and The Metropolitan Boroughs. London: Ed J Burrow & Co. Ltd. pp. 129–130. 
4. ^ Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London except the Cities of London and Westminster Harmondsworth 1952
5. ^ Victoria County History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989)
6. ^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
7. ^ Paddington MetB: Census Tables accessed 19 June 2007
8. ^ The census was suspended for World War II

Coordinates: 51°31′N 0°11′W / 51.52°N 0.19°W / 51.52; -0.19