Leinster Gardens False Facades
the houses that are just a front
Two fake house fronts in a posh Bayswater terrace, hiding an open railway cutting where steam trains once vented.
Free to visit · Bayswater · Bayswater · W2 3AN
Opening: Viewable any time
In an elegant white stucco terrace in Bayswater, two of the grand houses, numbers 23 and 24, are complete fakes. Look closely and you will see the windows are painted blacked-out boards and there are no real doors behind the steps. Behind the five-foot-thick facade is nothing but an open railway cutting.
When the world's first underground railway was built here in the 1860s, steam trains needed an open stretch to vent, so two houses were demolished and false fronts put up to keep the smart terrace looking complete. It is free to spot the trick, a wonderful piece of Victorian sleight of hand still fooling passers-by today.
Getting there: At 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens in Bayswater, a short walk from Bayswater station.
Best time to go: Daytime, to spot the giveaway blank windows up close.
Insider tip: The giveaway is the windows, painted-on and lifeless, and the doors with no letterboxes or handles. Walk round to nearby Porchester Terrace to see the open railway cutting that the fake fronts conceal.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide