Delaware mansions

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History

Delaware Mansions is named after Delaware Road which was approved in 1875. During that time the road was only paved, however between 1905 and 1907 the road was properly constructed. There was no particular reason for the name of the road, other than when Ashworth, Biddulph, Castellain and Delaware Roads were built (or extended) in 1893, the developers of the Paddington Estate, the Paddington Trustees and the Church Commissioners, wanted the initials of the street names to run alphabetically. Delaware is an American state named after the Indian tribe that used to live there.

In 1981 the Church Commissioners decided to sell the entire Maida Vale Estate, offering tenants a 20 per cent discount on the assessed market value of their flats. The tenants of the individual flats in Delaware Mansions were granted long leases and repairs and improvements have been carried out to Delaware Mansions over the recent years.

Delaware Mansions has recently figured in an important legal decision in the House of Lords. The case involved Delaware Mansions Limited, the management company owned by the tenants of the block, and its subsidiary, Flecksun Limited, and they won their case. In 1990 Flecksun acquired the freehold of Delaware Mansions from the original owners and developers, the Church Commissioners. The case concerned a London plane tree growing in the pavement outside flats 73 to 92 Delaware Mansions in the 1990s, and how much Westminster City Council was responsible for it. The tree had been planted when the block was built and during the twentieth century had almost reached the height of the 5-storey block.

Opposite Delaware Mansions is the distinctive building housing the BBC studios. Originally this was the Maida Vale Skating Palace and Club, which opened in 1909 and had one of the largest and most elegant roller-skating rinks in the world. It could accommodate hundreds of skaters and seated 2,620 people at any one time.

We Know Mansion Blocks

The first mansion blocks were built in the early 19th Century, providing luxurious residences for the growing urban upper middle classes. As the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Europe it brought about a population boom in the major cities, and mansion blocks were devised to provide luxurious housing for wealthy white collar workers. As the centre of the cities became increasingly crowded the blocks provided this growing class with housing that boasted impressive entrances, generous elevations and balconies reminiscent of mansions. They were a particularly popular innovation in polite Parisian society.

In spite of their popularity on the continent, Londoners were initially sceptical about this new style of accommodation.

In the 1850s a spacious mansion flat would set back the buyer somewhere in the order of £50-200 per annum, but the idea of living in such a communal manner was entirely contradictory to the dominant Victorian social ideals of the age.

Firstly, and most importantly, apartment dwellings were simply not considered ‘proper’, but it was not just a case of old English snobbery; there was also widely held fear that this new type of residence would increase the risk of burglary and the spread of infection and disease.

We Know Maida Vale

Starting life as an indistinguishable section of the Middlesex Forest in 1086, Maida Vale has certainly developed from the small hamlet, which in those days was not even significant enough to merit a mention.

Thanks to P.E Faulkher, resident of Delaware Mansion’s we have learnt that the name Maida Vale can be traced back to an impressive military victory against the French army in Sicily in 1806. In recognition of his role in the attack General John Stuart, commander of the British forces, was ennobled Count of Maida. Three years later a tavern on the Edgware Road was named the Hero of Maida tavern and by 1810 maps designated the area surrounding the tavern as Maida.

The canal system linking Maida Vale to the Thames was completed in the early 19th Century and in 1827 plans requested by the Bishop of London were designed for the layout of roads now recognised as Maida Vale. As the centre of the city became overcrowded with an ever increasing population and new roadways developed, improvements to public transport enabled the middle classes to move outwards to new suburbs. By 1832 ninety buses were operating on route between Paddington Green and the Bank, each carrying up to twelve passengers inside and three outside. By 1839 thirteen omnibuses were licensed to carry passengers from Maida Hill into London, dramatically speeding up the pace of building in the district.

Today Maida Vale offers an enormous range of vistas, from the canal and the predominantly stuccoed houses in the south to the park and the predominantly red brick flats in the north. As stated by John Julius Norwich, Writer, Broadcaster and Resident of Maida Vale, “though obviously changed beyond recognition, it remains, in all London, the most agreeable place to live”.