Westbourne, London facts for kids
Westbourne is an area west of Paddington in west London. It has a manorial history spanning many centuries, within a more broadly defined Paddington, before shedding its association in the mid-19th century. It is named after the west bourne, West Bourne, or River Westbourne, a Thames tributary which was encased in 19th-century London in the 1850s. The spring-fed stream and associated manor have led to the place names Westbourne Green, Westbourne Park and more narrowly: Westbourne Gardens, Westbourne Grove, Westbourne Park Road, Westbourne Park tube station, Westbourne Studios and the name of a public house.
Westbourne forms or resembles an electoral ward of the local authority which is, since 1965, Westminster City Council, and an ecclesiastical parish in the Church of England. Westbourne Conservation Area is a smaller area, designated by the local authority, in Planning Law.
Early history
The hamlet of Westbourne, was a High Middle Ages (mid-mediaeval) settlement, centred on Westbourne Green. It included a mansion house and a farmhouse. It is recorded as Westeburn in 1222 and as Westborn in 1294. The green is recorded as Westborne Grene in 1548, Washborne Green in 1680 and Wesborn Green in 1754.
Modern name
The name Westbourne Park was given to the area when it was developed for housing. A London Underground station was opened in 1866. The first station operated until 1871, when it was replaced by another further east. Until 1992, the station also included GWR / British Rail platforms on its north side. To the north and east there were extensive railway yards. Excellent transport encouraged many to reside in the area. More recently, the Westbourne Park bus garage was built, replacing railway yards north-east of the station, across the Great Western Road.
Unsuffixed by "Park" or "Green", use of the name Westbourne has faded, yet persists in the Westbourne Conservation Area, defined for planning purposes as an area mostly north of eastern Westbourne Grove; and Westbourne ward, one of twenty Westminster City Council electoral districts, north of the Westway and around the Great Western Road.
The name of Westbourne is also used as a ward for the City of Westminster. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,759.
Manor and parish
The manor of Westbourne was distinct from the manor of Paddington but, since it was then without a church, it did not form its own parish. Instead, it adjoined the western part of the parish of Paddington, where there was a church. The River Westbourne, running north to south, delimited Westbourne and Paddington parts of the parish. In later years, that lack of a central focus led to the area's manorial courts being seated in distant Knightsbridge, and the manor becoming known as "the Manor of Westbourne with Knightsbridge".
Buildings and famous residents
In 1746, Westbourne Green had five main houses, the largest of these being Westbourne Place (also known as Westbourne House), which had been rebuilt as an elegant Georgian mansion in 1745 by the architect Isaac Ware. The mansion had three storeys, with the frontage divided into three parts widthwise, and nine windows. The middle portion was topped by a large pediment and contained the further pedimented main door. Each end of the lower two storeys were formed into tri-windowed bays. Residents in turn included: baronet Sir William Yorke, a Venetian ambassador, architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (a distant relative of diarist Samuel Pepys) and General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill (Commander-in-Chief of the Army, 1828–39). Hill gave his name to Lord Hill's Bridge and left the house in 1836. Following Hill's departure, the mansion was demolished and replaced by the current gardened houses of Westbourne Park Villas. Lord Hill's Bridge remains abutting the Villas; it accommodates Royal Oak tube station and joins Porchester Road with Harrow Road below the Westway.
Westbourne Farm was centred where the Westway, Harrow Road and Paddington Arm, a canal, converge; in 1815–17 home to actress Sarah Siddons and her daughter. The actress was buried and has a headstone at St Mary's Church on Paddington Green (then the area's parish).
Thomas Hardy lived in this area, mainly at 16 Westbourne Park Villas, his home 1863–67.
The radio presenter and DJ Nihal Arthanayake used to live in Westbourne Park, near the Harrow Road.
