In the heart of London, in the elegant borough of Bayswater, there is a street called Leinster Gardens which, at first glance, is no different from any other of its kind in the British capital. It is decorated with striking Victorian townhouses. However, there is a secret hidden among these houses that testifies to the ingenuity and cleverness of 19th-century engineers. At numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens are two ‘false houses’ – buildings that are merely illusions. They are designed to hide the less aesthetically pleasing elements of the urban infrastructure. The facades of these buildings blend in perfectly with the neighbouring townhouses. They have the same ornate balconies, Ionic columns, windows with balustrades and all the other architectural details characteristic of the Victorian era. However, behind this elegant façade lies… emptiness.
The false houses on Leinster Gardens were built in the 1860s, during the construction of the world’s first underground railway line, the Metropolitan Railway, which is now part of the London Underground. As the steam locomotives that served the line generated large amounts of steam and smoke, it was necessary to provide open spaces where the puffs could find an outlet and disperse. Such a space was created at numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens, and the buildings previously standing there were demolished. However, an open hole in the very centre of a prestigious London district was unacceptable.
Photo: Google Maps
So the engineers decided on a clever move – they built house facades to hide the unsightly view and at the same time provide continuity to the elegant row of townhouses. This allowed Bayswater residents, as well as passers-by, to enjoy the view of the beautiful buildings without realising that behind some of them was empty space and railway tracks.
The façades of the fake houses are maintained by Transport for London and are an example of incredible care for urban space. The facades are around 1.5 metres thick and all the windows and doors have been designed to look real, even though there are no interiors behind them. These houses, although empty inside, play an important role in the urban landscape.
Today, Leinster Gardens is known not only for its elegance, but also for this unusual engineering trick that allowed it to combine functionality with aesthetics. The fake houses are a fascinating example of how architecture and infrastructure can coexist in harmony, even in a place as dense and prestigious as central London.
Source: lookup.london.com, secretldn.com
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