23 and 24 Leinster Gardens

 

Leinster Gardens is a street in Bayswater, London. It has two false façades at numbers 23 and 24, constructed in the late 1860s, at the time of the original steam engine-hauled underground railway that had a short section exposed to the surface in the space between residences at numbers 22 and 25.

Locomotives were fitted with condensers to reduce fumes, but "venting off" was still needed in open-air sections to relieve the condensers and keep the tunnels free from smoke. In this up market area, the railway company hid this unsightly practice from residents. The false façade also maintained a continuous frontage along a prestigious terrace. The façade is 5 feet (1.5 m) thick, behind which is a ground level opening above the rail line. The façade includes 18 blackened windows and front doors with no letter boxes.

In the 1930s, a hoax was played on guests who were sold ten-Guinea tickets to a charity ball at Leinster Gardens, only to turn up in evening dress to discover the address was fake.