Ossington Street, London W2 (geograph 3239159)

Ossington Street is a quiet one-way street in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, W2, leading from

Moscow Road Moscow Road is a street in the Bayswater area of London. Located in the City of Westminster, it runs eastwards from Queensway, London, Queensway to Pembridge Square. It was developed by the painter, publisher, and property pioneer Edward Orme in ...

at its north end to the

Bayswater Road Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road. Route In the east, Bayswater Road originates at Marble Arch roadway at th ...

Notting Hill Gate Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name. Location At Ossington Street/Ke ...

at its south end. Ossington Street forms part of the border between the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

and the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

, with the east side of the street belonging to Westminster and the west side to Kensington. It is possible that the street was named after

Viscount Ossington A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. Despite its minor nature, Ossington Street is one of the more notable 'runs' of

The Knowledge Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...

in the area, as a route for

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

drivers to get from

Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of west London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in the ...

. The nearest

Tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

station to Ossington Street is

, followed by Queensway and

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

History

Ossington Street was originally laid out from the then

Uxbridge Road Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon. Uxbridge Road is a major roa ...

to Moscow Road on part of Gravel Pit field in the 1830s. It was known at the time as Victoria Grove, and was renamed to Ossington Street in 1837 and transferred to Kensington. The buildings to the west side were in the form of terraced cottages of two storeys and basement, with a mews behind. Victoria Grove Mews retains its name to this day. Several of the terraced houses to the south were leased to William Ward, a Marylebone builder, who also filled a space along the Uxbridge Road between Victoria Grove and the then boundary of Paddington with an inn and five shops, nos. 1 to 6 Wellington Terrace, around 1840. By 1865, almost all of

had been built up and the only sites for infilling were south of Moscow Road and in particular along the east side of Victoria Grove. This was built up as

Palace Court The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court ...

, whose west side backs on Ossington Street and offers some of the most interesting late Victorian domestic architecture in the area.

References

{{cite book , author= C R Elrington (Editor), T F T Baker, Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot , title= A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington , series =

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

series , chapter = Paddington: Bayswater , year = 1989 , pages= 204–12 , chapter-url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=22666&strquery=palace%20court , url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=90 Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Streets in the City of Westminster