VicLondon-Bayswater
Bayswater, the West End
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District Traits
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| Interactive: Access x, Information x, Prestige x Reactive: Safety x, Awareness x, Stability x |
Notable Locations
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Class: Middle
This part of the Royal Borough is wealthy, but more mercantile in character. Tailors, tinkers, furniture workshops, restaurants, and street markets dominate the area. Bayswater is served by Paddington Station, the massive terminus for much of the train travel into London from Birmingham and the Midlands. Underground stations connect the district to the rest of the city in minutes.
Bayswater bustles; the district is busy at all hours of the day or night. During the day, the markets are buzzing with customers from high and low houses in the West End. In the evening, restaurants and pubs do quick business. At night, clean up from the day before and preparation for the day ahead mean that people are moving around at all hours. Cartage is clattering around the streets at all times, and despite the new-fangled tar macadam on the roads, it’s still noisy.
It is also a popular spot for the immigrant. Unlike the hovels of the East End, Bayswater is home to the skilled immigrant – the Swiss watchmaker, the Italian leather worker, the French tailor and seamstress, the German butcher. In the streets of Bayswater, one can hear the languages of the world spoken, loudly and quickly. It is especially a Jewish community, who have several top-notch butchers and kosher markets in the neighbourhood. On Portobelo Road, there are a series of exceptional jewellers, many having immigrated from the Netherlands or Switzerland. Antique shops and other rare collectibles can be found in this market.
As one might expect, this much business means the criminal element is present in Bayswater. Much of it is well- organized and attempts to hide behind a veneer of respectability. Police presence is high, as the number of marks, access to the Underground, to omnibuses, and the cover of heavy traf c allow for quick theft and a quick get-away.
Awakened Locales
- Wolsey House: Sanctum (Acknowledged) • The Knights of Hyde. A large house on the edge of Hyde Park, Wolsey House serves as the always-manned sanctum for the Knights.
