Plenty Of Front.....
At first glance Nos. 23 & 24 Leinster Gardens, between Bayswater and Paddington, look like any other buildings. But look carefully and you will see there is no glass in the windows, that's because they are not real houses at all!
In the 1860s, when the world's first underground railway was being constructed, it became necessary to demolish two houses in what was then a highly prestigious row of terraced houses.
Householders living either side, refused to be beaten by the Act of Parliament which allowed the compulsory purchase of properties by railway companies in order to demolish them. The residents forced through a condition that stated once the work was complete, the façades of the houses be reinstated. So what looks just like another couple of houses is in fact just a wall about 5 feet thick!
Plenty Of Front.....
At first glance Nos. 23 & 24 Leinster Gardens, between Bayswater and Paddington, look like any other buildings. But look carefully and you will see there is no glass in the windows, that's because they are not real houses at all!
In the 1860s, when the world's first underground railway was being constructed, it became necessary to demolish two houses in what was then a highly prestigious row of terraced houses.
Householders living either side, refused to be beaten by the Act of Parliament which allowed the compulsory purchase of properties by railway companies in order to demolish them. The residents forced through a condition that stated once the work was complete, the façades of the houses be reinstated. So what looks just like another couple of houses is in fact just a wall about 5 feet thick!