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All the United Kingdom England London Leinster Gardens False Facades

Leinster Gardens False Facades

You'd never know the houses at 23-24 Leinster Gardens were fakes—until you see the train tracks on the other side.

London, England

Added By
alyosha47
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The left-hand property (No. 22) is inhabited, but the right-hand one (No. 23) is only a façade.   Sladen
The left-hand property (No. 22) is inhabited, but the right-hand one (No. 23) is only a façade.   Sladen
Looking at the structure from behind   alyosha47 / Atlas Obscura User
Looks just like the rest of the houses on the block   alyosha47 / Atlas Obscura User
Rear of façade with railway tracks and vent area.   Hywel Williams
Left -Real   richardnorton71 / Atlas Obscura User
  laurasapplecart / Atlas Obscura User
The windows on the left are glass. On the right, paint.   alyosha47 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
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About

When the London Underground was being constructed in the 1860s, rather than tunneling under existing buildings, deep tunnels were dug right through the city and then covered up again. But not all of the properties razed to make way for the railway were rebuilt.

Case in point: The houses at 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens, which were demolished to build the tunnel connecting Paddington with Bayswater. The Underground uses this open-topped portion of the line to ventilate a large section of the surrounding Tube system, but the sacrificed homes were never reconstructed. This left a rather unsightly hole in an otherwise very sightly block of Empire 5-Story houses.  

And so, a false façade was constructed to conceal the wound.  It matches its neighbors in every important detail, except that the windows are painted on, rather than being made of glass. They did a really nice job; you could live in that neighborhood for years, walking by this address frequently, and still not notice the deception if you're not looking for it.

From the back of the block, however, you can see what's going on. The houses on either side are braced against each other by a number of sturdy steel struts, and the Underground tracks are visible—and most audible—just below.

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Transportation Architecture Hidden Railroads

Know Before You Go

From Bayswater or Queens way underground stations, walk down to Bayswater Road and turn left, then left onto Leinster Terrace.

From the Elizabeth Line exit of Paddington Station (Platform 1 of the railway station), take Cleveland Terrace, then left onto Leinster Gardens. 

No. 23 and 24 are towards one end of the grand white-painted terrace, next to the Henry Hotel. Walk round the corner of Craven Hill Gardens where the subterfuge is immediately obvious. 

 

Community Contributors

Added By

alyosha47

Edited By

jooniur, Meg, Collector of Experiences, warwickstone...

  • jooniur
  • Meg
  • Collector of Experiences
  • warwickstone
  • richardnorton71
  • laurasapplecart

Published

October 27, 2016

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Leinster Gardens False Facades
23-24 Leinster Gardens
London, England
United Kingdom
51.513121, -0.184042
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