A range of content curated by our Heritage Pioneer Volunteers through a range of mediums such as podcasts, video essays and research articles, you will get a chance to learn about the history surrounding Paddington through different voices.
The Boatmen’s Chapel, Paddington
A chapel intended for one of the Victorian period’s least respected communities once stood on Junction Mews in Paddington. Today, the only sign of its existence that remains is a blue plaque which reads: ‘Boatmens Institution’. In this podcast, Susan O’Reilly, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, uncovers the fascinating origins of the chapel, and explores the aims and impact of its founders’ mission.
Image credit: Jon B Galviz: Photography.
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St Mary Magdalene Church on Film
St Mary Magdalene Church has made a few appearances in different mediums of media due to its timeless Gothic Revival architecture. From being used as a location film sites to a backdrop, the church has made a few appearances in the likes of blockbusters to music videos and even student films. In this podcast, Alison Low Madigan, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, comes across a different side to St Mary Magdalene Church.
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Westbourne Green Before the 19th Century
The area of Westbourne Green, where the Church of St Mary Magdalene and Grand Junction now stands, is often overlooked in histories of London. For almost a millennium before it was drawn into the urban sprawl of London, Westbourne was a distinct settlement and a thriving hamlet in the county of Middlesex.
In this podcast, Josh Ivinson, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, explores the fascinating, individual heritage of Westbourne Green before it was subsumed into the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington.
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Getting an Education Part 1
In this fascinating podcast, Lorraine Singh explores early church and state provision of education for children in the North Paddington area, and particularly developments leading to the founding of St Mary Magdalene’s school.
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Getting an Education Part 2
In this fascinating podcast, Lorraine Singh traces the steps towards, and establishment of, free education for all in the North Paddington area. Plus the story of how St Mary Magdalene’s school came to be located on its current site.
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Junction of the Canals Part 1
In the first instalment of this three-part podcast series, Michelle Demir, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, explores the rapid development and construction of the British Canal Network during the 18th and 19th centuries, and the way of life of boatmen and their families.
Image credit:
Canal & River Trust, BW192/3/2/2/12/6/23
Photograph c1900, Steam tug ‘Buffalo’ and boat people on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. Harrow Road Lock Bridge is visible in the background
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Junction of the Canals Part 2
In the second instalment of this three-part podcast series, Michelle Demir, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, delves into the history of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal, opened in 1801, the formation of the Regent’s Canal in 1816, and the merger of the two, creating the Grand Union Canal.
Image credit:
• Canal & River Trust, CRT/BW/202/15
Engraving of Paddington Canal, 1801, A View from the Left of the First Bridge at Paddington, with the Company and Barges
• Canal & River Trust, BW192/3/2/2/12/6/8
Engraving c1828, Junction of the Regent’s Canal, at Paddington Basin. Drawn by Thomas H Shepherd and engraved by S Lacey
• Canal & River Trust, BW192/3/2/2/13/6/27
Photograph 1970, Scene at Westway on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal
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Junction of the Canals Part 3
In the final instalment of this three-part podcast series, Michelle Demir, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, discusses the canal banks, the architecture that can be seen around Little Venice, the people who have lived beside the canal, and the popularity of the area today.
Image credit:
• Canal & River Trust, BW192/3/2/2/12/6/1
Illustration 1849, Pleasure Canal Boats, Sketched at Paddington Basin. Illustrated London News 11th August 1849
• Canal & River Trust, BW192/3/2/2/13/6/31
Photograph 1956, Little Venice on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal. Damaged buildings seen in the background were later demolished
• Ian Down, 2019
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The Sisters of Mercy
Little is known about the Sisters who came from the Community of St Mary the Virgin in Wantage, Oxfordshire to assist in the parish of St Mary Magdalene Paddington. Spanning the years 1871 to 1944 they were an integral part of the church’s support network contributing to the spiritual, educational and health care of the people of North Paddington.
In this podcast, Lorraine Singh, Heritage Pioneer Volunteer, describes the work of these indomitable women as well as the wider context of the newly formed Anglican Sisterhoods and the Oxford Movement.
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“It is most necessary to avoid rusticity in any way, whether in material, design, or execution.”
George Edmund Street
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