Little Venice
Little Veniceis an affluent residential district inWest London,England, around the junction of thePaddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal,theRegent's Canal,and the entrance toPaddington Basin.The junction, also known as Little Venice and Browning's Pool, forms a triangular shape basin designed to allow long canal boats to turn around. Many of the buildings in the vicinity areRegencywhite paintedstuccoterraced town houses and taller blocks (mansions) in the same style. The area is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross and immediately north-west of Paddington.[1]
TheLittle Venicewardof theCity of Westminsterhad 11,040 residents in 2015.[2][3]Warwick Avenueruns through the area, which is also served by atube stationof the same name.
Name
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Little Venice is a comparatively recent name for parts ofPaddingtonandMaida Valein theCity of Westminster,which had been referred to as London's "Venice" for a century before "Little" was added. The name was in frequent use by the latter half of the 20th century.
The origin of the name is sometimes attributed to the poetRobert Browningwho lived at Beauchamp Lodge, 19Warwick Crescent,between 1862 and 1887.[5]This was disputed byLord Kinrossin 1966[6]who asserted thatLord Byron(1788–1824) first humorously compared the locale toVenice.The name "little Venice" was later formally applied to an electoral ward of the City of Westminster.[7]
Junction of the canals
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The junction of the three canals forms a triangularbasinwithin which is a small island. The three canals enter the basin at the corners: thePaddington Arm of the Grand Union Canalis to the west, theRegent's Canalis in the north-east corner and the short connecting canal of thePaddington Basinto the south east. The length of the sides of the basin are about 120 yards (110 m) from the Regents Canal to the other two corners and the length from the Paddington arm to the paddington basin canal is slightly longer at about 170 yards (160 m).
The basin and the Grand Union Canal form the southern boundary of the electoral ward. This means that boats moored along eastern end of the Grand Union Canal from Ha' Penny Bridge to the junction (a distance of 520 yards (480 m)) are moored within Little Venice electoral ward as are the boats moored on the Regents Canal up to the western portal of theMaida Hill Tunnel(a distance of 350 yards (320 m)).[8]
Extent
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The boundaries of the neighbourhood of Little Venice are unclear; however, the majority of its buildings have whitestuccofacades characteristic ofRegency architecture.This architectural style and the proximity to the canals defines the area. The nameLittle Veniceis now being used for a wider area than previously to include new developments surroundingPaddington Basin(Merchant Square/Paddington Central). Although the Paddington Basin development is sometimes included as a part of Little Venice, the modern architectural style of Paddington Basin sets it apart from the rest of the area. The nameMaida Vale[9]is likewise fairly recent in origin. Most of the area was part of Paddington, a parish of early medieval creation. Land north of Browning's Pool was later referred to as Kilburn Fields, or as its then developed minority part ofKilburn,which by the mid-nineteenth century formed fourecclesiastical chapelries,the local two of which (one of which is relevant) had lain inHampstead,but Kilburn had for centuries been a majorhamlet.[10]
It is generally considered the area is roughly bounded by Delamere Terrace, Warwick Crescent, Howley Place andMaida Avenueat the south, Maida Vale Road at the east, the Lord Hill Road / Formosa Street footbridge at the west andSutherland Avenueat the north. This is the area surrounding the Little Venice basin and its canals containing the Regency-style white stucco buildings.
Facilities
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Little Venice is one of London's prime residential areas and contains restaurants, shops, theatres and pubs. Canalside venues include theCanal Cafe Theatre,thePuppet Theatre Barge,the Waterside Café, the Summerhouse Restaurant, and Cafe La Ville.
In the north where the area blends intoMaida Valeare threeGrade II (initial category) listedpubs for their historic interiors and façades: TheWarwick Castle,The Warrington,and thePrince Alfred.[11]
Centred on the Little Venice and Padington basins, the Inland Waterways Association has hosted aCanalway Cavalcadesince 1983.[12]It takes place over the early May Bank Holiday weekend, combining a Boat Rally with a trade show, activities and entertainments.
Notable buildings
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- TheColonnade HotelonWarrington Crescent,originally a pair of houses dating from 1863, is particularly ornate, with mouldings and a continuous first-floor balustrade.[13][14]The building has historical associations with bothAlan TuringandSigmund Freud,and there are blue plaques on the exterior attesting to this.
- Pondfield Houseon Clifton Gardens was formerly aMetropolitan Policesection house until the 1980s.
Notable residents
[edit]- The writerKatherine Mansfieldstayed as a music student at Beauchamp Lodge (No. 2 Warwick Crescent) in 1908–9.
- Lennox Berkeley(1900-1989), composer, lived at 8 Warwick Avenue.[15]
- The actorJohn Inmanlived in a Mews house in the area for 30 years
- ThepsychoanalystSigmund Freudlived briefly in what is now the Colonnade Hotel, situated where Warrington Crescent meets Clifton Road andWarwick Avenue.
- The code-breaker and mathematicianAlan Turingwas born in 1912 in a maternity home in Warrington Crescent; the building later became what is now called the Colonnade Hotel (see above).
- Australian former international cricketerShane Warne.[16]
- John Julius Norwich,historian.
- Paul Weller,musician, former frontman ofThe JamandThe Style Council.[17]
Transport
[edit]TheRegent's Canal waterbusservice operates from Little Venice eastward aroundRegent's Park,calling atLondon Zooand continuing towardsCamden Town.Little Venice is served by oneLondon Undergroundstation,Warwick Avenueon theBakerloo line,and by the Nos.6,46 and 187 bus services.Paddington Station,(a main line train andunderground station) is within a short walk of the area.
References
[edit]- ^"Distance between Warwick Avenue, London, England, W2 1, UK and Charing Cross, London, England, UK (UK)".Distance Calculator, Distance Between Cities, Distance Chart for Countries around the World.Retrieved2 August2020.
- ^"Little Venice – MapIt".Mapit.mysociety.org.Retrieved22 January2018.
- ^"Little Venice: Ward Profile"(PDF).Transact.westminster.gov.uk.Retrieved22 January2018.
- ^Metropolitan Improvements,1828, p. 201.
- ^"The history of the place name known as 'Little Venice'".London Canals, U.K.Retrieved12 February2018.
- ^"Letter to Editor".The Daily Telegraph.1966. Archived fromthe originalon 2 February 2017.Retrieved22 January2018.
- ^"Little Venice Ward Profile, 2018"(PDF).City of Westminster. 2018. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 January 2018.Retrieved12 February2018.
- ^"Little Venice Ward Profile"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 January 2018.Retrieved12 February2018.
- ^"Paddington: Maida Vale – British History Online".British-history.ac.uk.Retrieved22 January2018.
- ^T F T Baker, Diane K Bolton and Patricia E C Croot, 'Hampstead: Kilburn, Edgware Road, and Cricklewood', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9, Hampstead, Paddington, ed. C R Elrington (London, 1989), pp. 47–51. British History Onlinehttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol9/pp47-51[accessed 27 January 2018].
- ^Historic England."Details from listed building database (1066328)".National Heritage List for England.
- ^"Canalway Cavalcade: 2nd–4th May 2015".Waterways.org.uk, Accessed 5 November 2014
- ^"Paddington: Maida Vale".British History Online: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9, Hampstead, Paddington. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1989.
- ^"The Colonnade Hotel in Little Venice – Official Website".The Colonnade Hotel.Retrieved13 June2018.
- ^"Westminster Green Plaques"(PDF).Westminster. n.d.Archived(PDF)from the original on 1 August 2022.
- ^"Cricket legend Warne banned from driving".23 September 2019.Retrieved23 September2019.
- ^Carponen, Claire (2 May 2020)."London's Maida Vale Is Leafy, Tucked-Away and Boasts Film Set-Worth Streets".www.mansionglobal.com.Retrieved5 March2024.
External links
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Media related toLittle Venice, Londonat Wikimedia Commons
