Maida Vale History
Starting life as an indistinguishable of the Middlesex Forest in 1086, Maida Vale has certainly developed from the small hamlet, which in those days, was not even significant enough to mention. Passing from the hands of the parish of St Margaret’s Westminster to a Thomas Browne in the 1650s for a total of £3,958 17s 4d, and then back to the Church again, there is no doubt that Maida Vale has a rich and prosperous history.
The name Maida Vale can be traced back to an impressive military victory against the French army in Sicily in 1806. In recognition of his role in the attack General John Stuart, commander of the British forces, was ennobled Count of Maida. Three years later a tavern on Edgware Road was named the Hero of Maida Tavern and by 1810 maps designated the area surrounding the tavern as Maida.
Advertisement in The Times, Tuesday, November 14, 1854
APARTMENTS, Furnished, suitable for a gentleman not dining at home and wishing to sleep in good air – a sitting room on the first floor of a private house. No other lodgers. Rent only 12s per week. Apply to M N O, 21 Aberdeen-place, Maida Hill.
The canal system linking Maida Vale to the Thames was completed in the early 19th century and in 1827 the layout of roads now recognised as Maida Vale were designed. As the centre of the city became overcrowded with an ever increasing population and new roadways developed, improvements to public transport enabled the middle classes to move outwards to new suburbs. By 1839 thirteen omnibuses were licensed to carry passengers from Maida Hill into London. This dramatically sped up the pace of building in the district.
Warrington Crescent was constructed in 1861 along with the Warrington Hotel. This was quickly followed by the building of The Prince Alfred in 1862 and the Lord Elgin in 1863. Around this time the name Maida Vale was being used for the stretch from Maida Hill to Kilburn Park Road. Paddington Recreational Ground ‘The Rec’ was opened in 1888 providing a cricket ground, tennis courts, cycle track and a pavilion.
Around the turn of the 19th Century saw a large number of mansion blocks built in the area. These included Lauderdale in 1897; Ashworth, Elgin and Leith in 1900; Carlton and Castellain in 1902 and Delaware in 1907. The trend towards mansion blocks in general began in the 1870s when white collar workers were looking for reasonably priced housing near central London. Called ‘Mansion flats’, they were designed to have impressive entrances, generous elevations and balconies, giving an overall impression of a large mansion.
Today Maida Vale offers an enormous range of vistas, from the canal and the predominantly stuccoed houses in the south to the park and the predominantly red brick flats in the north. As stated by John Julius Norwich, Writer, Broadcaster and Resident of Maida Vale, “though obviously changed beyond recognition, it remains, in all London, the most agreeable place to live” (p4, 2000).