Paddington Arm

The Paddington canal was opened on 10 July 1801, when 20,000 people were reported to attend. Paddington was in 1801 a village buffered by a small line of fields from the closest parts of the rapidly expanding conurbation of London. It was said in 1853 that at the beginning of the 1700s "next to the beautiful fields and quiet village, the gallows and the gibbet were the principal attractions in Paddington" in Robins' Paddington Past and Present, written by a writer who lived in the area in the 1830s and 1840s.</blockquote> By the mid-19th century, refuse stations were moved elsewhere and grand mansions were built alongside the closing mile of banks, including Beauchamp Lodge, the home of…

In other use since the outset, the canal, for some Londoners together with the Regent's Canal provided an easy way to embark on a holiday to the countryside within a mile of many Londoners who could afford the hire of a narrowboat. The Paddington Arm retains a present tourist function. These facilities in marinas and basins also support London's communities living on narrowboats. Some facilities are provided by the Canal and River Trust which administers many British canals.