Queensway is a bustling cosmopolitan street in the Bayswater

Bayswater

Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...

 district of west London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It contains many restaurants (particularly Chinese, Arab and Mediterranean ones), pubs, letting agents, and high street stores. Near the northern end of the street is the multi-storey Whiteleys

Whiteleys

Whiteleys is a shopping centre in London, England. It was London's first department store, located in the Bayswater area. The store's main entrance was located on Queensway.-History:...

 Shopping Centre, on the site of London's first department store, opened by William Whiteley

William Whiteley

William Whiteley was a British entrepreneur of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the founder of Whiteleys department store.-Early life:...

 in 1867. The store was awarded a Royal Warrant

Royal Warrant

Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...

 by Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 in 1896. The facade of the current building is from 1911, but the building itself was demolished and rebuilt in 1989.

This part of Bayswater was first developed as a residential suburb of London in the early nineteenth century. However, the road at its southern end (Bayswater Road

Bayswater Road

Bayswater Road is the main road running across the north of Hyde Park, London. To the east Bayswater Road becomes Oxford Street . It is where the fictional upper middle class Forsyte family live in the BBC series the Forsyte Saga...

) was a long established road across the countryside before this, and a road roughly following the present Queensway can be seen on early maps running north from Bayswater Road across fields under the name of Black Lion Lane. It was subsequently renamed Queen's Road in honour of Queen Victoria, who had been born at nearby Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and...

. This was a name somewhat lacking in distinctiveness, and for this reason the present name of Queensway was eventually substituted.

Both Bayswater

Bayswater tube station

Bayswater is a London Underground station in the Bayswater area of the City of Westminster. It is served by the Circle and District lines, but is closed until 23rd of August for engineering works. It's between Notting Hill Gate and Paddington stations, in Travelcard Zone 1...

 and Queensway

Queensway tube station

Queensway is a London Underground station on the Central Line, just inside the boundary of the City of Westminster with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is at the junction of Queensway and Bayswater Road, and is northwest of Kensington Gardens...

 London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

 stations are located on this street. An important painting of the former by Walter Sickert

Walter Sickert

Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....

 can be seen here.

In recent years, Queensway has become a centre for the entertainment and leisure industry in London. London's biggest ice rink, the Queens Ice & Bowl in Queensway was recently renovated after investment and development by Robert Bourne (developer)

Robert Bourne (developer)

Robert Bourne is a British property developer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who was born in London, UK. Over the past 30 years Bourne has amassed a vast property and leisure empire in London and France and has achieved wide recognition for his patronage of the dramatic arts with his wife,...

 and Bourne Capital

Bourne Capital

Bourne Capital is an integrated property investment and leisure group in the UK.- Origins :Bourne Capital was founded in 1989 by Robert Bourne. Bourne was previously co-founder of Local London Group , the then market leader in the London serviced office sector...

. This has led the way for further developments in the area's entertainment and leisure industry. Queensway's retail industry is also booming with the famous Queensway Market showing significant growth in recent years.

Queensway and Westbourne Grove

Westbourne Grove

Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, a section of west London, England. It runs from Kensington Park Road in the west to Queensway in the east, crossing over Portobello Road...

 are identified in the London Plan

London Plan

The London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...

as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.

Queensway also has its very own police town centre team.http://www.met.police.uk/teams/westminster/queenswaytowncentre/index.php