Paddington

Paddington is in the City of Westminster, London, England, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross. more...

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Meaning of place-name

Paddington means 'estate associated with a man called Padda', from the Old English personal name Padda + ing- + tun, ing- meaning '(place) of' and tun (farm, estate). The name was recorded as Padington in 1056.

Pada is an Old English version of the first name Patrick.

Places of note

Important places in Paddington include Paddington station, St Mary's Hospital (and nurse-training centre) and Paddington Green police station (high-security police station). The IRA bombed the telephone box outside the police station one morning in 1991 as a demonstration to the British security services.

The Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal to Birmingham terminates at Paddington Basin.

Famous people

Paddington has several famous sons, notably Alexander Fleming, the scientist who discovered penicillin (a plaque commemorating this is placed outside his laboratory at St Mary's Hospital on Praed Street); and Alan Turing, the mathematician (there is a plaque on the hotel where he was born, The Colonnade in Warrington Crescent). More recent natives of Paddington include the musicians Seal, Courtney Pine and Elvis Costello, the footballer Les Ferdinand the actresses Emma Thompson and Rhona Mitra.

An early nineteenth century political rhyme comparing the stature of two politicians goes "London is to Paddington as Pitt is to Addington".

Paddington station

Paddington has a main-line railway station, Paddington station, with commuter service to the west of London (e.g. Slough, Maidenhead, Reading, Swindon) and main-line service to Oxford, Bristol, Bath, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Cornwall and South Wales (including Cardiff and Swansea). There is also the Heathrow Express service to Heathrow Airport.

In the station there is a statue of Paddington Bear, a character in children's fiction who, in the book, is discovered at this station and hence named after it.

Read more at Wikipedia.org