Mainly consisting of Marylebone Road and Baker Street, and stretching from Edgware Road in the west to Great Portland Street in the east, the area is a tourist hotspot for those wishing to visit such sites as Madame Tussauds and Regent’s Park. While much of the space is taken up by the busy main road, there is a surprising amount of residential living space due to the interwar apartment blocks lining the road. The area makes up the northern border of the Marylebone district and is a short walk from the boutiques, cafes and hotels which give Marylebone its distinct character. As it is located along a main road the area is very well connected, with Baker Street, Edgware Road and Regent’s Park Underground stations all located within it. Regent’s Park to the north and the numerous Marylebone squares to the south give the area a distinct abundance of green space. As the neighbourhood mainly consists of a main road and tourist spots, there is no overriding community feel. Still, the area is always busy and exciting for those who live and work there.

Originally, the area was part of the manor of Tyburn and mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. By 1544, it had been exchanged with Henry VIII and the northern part had been fenced off to become a deer park and hunting grounds for the King. In 1756, the New Road was built as a drovers road which took cattle and sheep to the meat market of Smithfield whilst avoiding the congestion of Oxford Street and High Holborn. It became an important transport route and the community around the road began to grow, which required its renaming and splitting up into Marylebone Road, Euston Road and Pentonville Road. The area surrounding Marylebone Road expanded further, with the establishment of the Metropolitan Railway, which has its western terminal at Paddington, slightly to the west of Marylebone Road. The eastern side of the road became very affluent, and a destination for tourists with the building of Regent’s Park, which encouraged the building of sites like Madame Tussauds in the late 19th century. The area has remained relatively similar since. While the railway workers have moved away, the terraces have become more affluent housing. Still, the area continues to attract tourists and Marylebone Road remains a busy and important thoroughfare.

The world famous wax museum, Madame Tussauds, was opened in the area by Marie Tussaud in 1836, on the top floor of the Baker Street Bazaar. The main attraction was the Chamber of Horrors which featured grizzly death masks and wax figures of the guillotined aristocracy from the French Revolution. It moved to its current building in 1884, when the number of waxworks, and the queues to see them, became too much for the small space.

The area’s location along a busy thoroughfare means that those living nearby regularly complain of noise, pollution and crowding. However, when speaking to one of the bar staff at the station pub, he mentioned that the proximity to some of London’s busiest stations means that there’s plenty of new faces and it’s always nice and lively. It’s also easy to travel home at the end of the day!

While Baker Street and Gloucester Place once resembled urban motorways, carrying only one-way traffic and making the area less accessible, it has recently been transformed. Two-way traffic has been introduced, traffic slowed down and in the area congestion reduced, meaning the neighbourhood is far more pleasant for both tourists and pedestrians. Closeby, at 191 Old Marylebone Road, the Motto by Hilton hotel development is currently under construction and will consist of 100 rooms. This will sit next to 129 and 137 Marylebone Road, where plans are under consideration to add three additional storeys of office space to the existing 1960’s building.