PADDINGTON

area in the borough of Westminster, London. Formerly (until 1965) a metropolitan borough, it is located west of St. Marylebone and north of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Its southern section includes the neighbourhood of Bayswater, and in its northern portion is Maida Vale. The area has been inhabited since ancient times, and it was crossed by the Roman highways now roughly traced by Edgware Road (see Watling Street) and Bayswater Road. It remained rural until the opening of canal and road systems in the early 19th century. The area has a history of multiethnicity. French Huguenots settled in the village of Paddington in the 18th century, and in subsequent generations there were arrivals of Greek, Jewish, and Asian groups. Arab communities later became established along Edgware Road. Paddington Station (1854) serves the western region of British Rail, linking London and its western suburbs with South Wales and Bristol. The iron- and glass-embellished station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was the chief engineer of the Great Western Railway. To the northwest of the station is Little Venice, a fashionable enclave on the Regent's (Grand Union) Canal.