About The Mad Bishop & Bear

Paddington was a small agricultural village in the district of Marylebone, kept alive and well by its proximity to the Regent’s canal. In Saxon times it was given to the Abbey of Westminster by King Edgar and remained the property of the curacy for many hundreds of years. As time and progress marched on, along came the Great Western Railway which brought new prosperity to the area, but they needed more space and lots of it!

The Great Western Railway asked the church if they could buy the land where you now sit, and the good people of the church said yes allowing the railway to acquire the land for a nominal fee. So this is how the story goes, that the bishop who authorised the sale must have been potty to do so, knowing the future value of the land, hence the Mad Bishop. As for the Bear, you know who he is, he comes from Peru and likes marmalade sandwiches.