The
parish of Paddington was situated on the Edgware
Road and by the early nineteenth century was "nearly united"
with the north-western edge of the city. Until 1795 the parish was distinctly
rural, but an Act of Parliament of that year provided for the leasing
of much of the land for houses. Almost immediately some 700 "huts
of the meanest possible character" sprung up which formed "the
most abject feature in all the suburbs of London".
Paddington
was also noted for a canal which conveyed both freight and passengers
between Paddington and Uxbridge. In 1812 Regent's
Canal was commenced to connect Paddington to Limehouse.
The
Grecian-style Paddington church, seen above, was built between 1787
and 1791, replacing a ruinous structure of only one hundred years old.
