Frestonia
Encyclopedia
Frestonia was the name adopted by the residents of Freston Road, a street at the north western boundary of Notting Hill
, London
, also known as Notting Dale, when they attempted to secede
from the United Kingdom
in 1977. Actor David Rappaport
was the Foreign Minister
, while playwright Heathcote Williams
served as Ambassador
to Great Britain. Another minister was Nicholas Albery
of BIT
.
) and W11 (Notting Hill
), and now belongs to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
.
, who moved into empty houses in the early 1970s. When the Greater London Council
planned to redevelop the area, the 120 residents first all adopted the same surname of Bramley
with the aim that the council would then have to re-house them collectively.
Passport to Pimlico
and a previous visit to Freetown Christiania
in Copenhagen
- suggested that they declare the street independent of the rest of the UK. A referendum
returned 94% of residents in favour of the plan, and 73% in favour of joining the European Economic Community
. Independence was declared on 31 October 1977. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sir Geoffrey Howe
wrote expressing his support, saying "As one who had childhood enthusiasm for Napoleon of Notting Hill
, I can hardly fail to be moved by your aspirations". In a legal dispute regarding the unauthorised performance of his play The Immortalist, Heathcote Williams won a ruling from the UK courts that Frestonia was for this purpose not part of the UK.
The state adopted the Latin
motto Nos Sumus Una Familia - We are All One Family - and applied to join the United Nations
, at the same time warning that peacekeeping troops
might be needed to keep the GLC at bay.
Frestonia had its own newspaper,The Tribal Messenger, an art gallery called 'The Car Breaker Gallery' and also a "National Theatre," which performed Heathcote Williams
's The Immortalist. The Frestonian National Film Institute was also formed; its first screening being - appropriately - Passport to Pimlico and a film of The Sex Pistols. Local transport was served by the Number 295 bus, and the London Underground
, Latimer Road tube station
being at the north end of Bramley Road. There were Frestonian postage stamps (honoured by the General Post Office), as well as plans to introduce a currency
.
When the state celebrated its fifth anniversary in 1982, the population numbered 97 people occupying 23 houses. The same year, The Clash
recorded their album Combat Rock
in Ear Studios (also known as The People's Hall) in Frestonia.
A large new office development, also named Frestonia, now occupies the adjacent site at the junction of Bramley Road and St Anns Road. It is occupied by the headquarters of Cath Kidston
Limited. A second large office development also named Frestonia by its developers was erected at 125/135 Freston Road in 2001.
Major developments occurred in the 2000's with the completion of environmentally-friendly headquarters buildings for Monsoon Accessorize (in 2007) and TalkTalk
(in 2009) at the rear of 91-121 Freston Road,. The 150,000m² Westfield London
shopping complex was also finished around this time, and links Frestonia, including the two HQ buildings in Notting Dale, via a nearby footbridge over the West Cross Route
.
was the name of the final album from Aztec Camera
.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, 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...
, also known as Notting Dale, when they attempted to secede
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1977. Actor David Rappaport
David Rappaport
David Stephen Rappaport was an English actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film...
was the Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
, while playwright Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams is an English poet, actor and award-winning playwright. He is also an intermittent painter, sculptor and long-time conjuror...
served as Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Great Britain. Another minister was Nicholas Albery
Nicholas Albery
Nicholas Albery social inventor and author, was the founder or leader of various projects related to the improvement of society, often known as the Alternative Society....
of BIT
BIT
BIT was an information service, publisher, travel guide and social centre founded, in 1968, by John 'Hoppy' Hopkins. It pre-dated the internet as a free service that would try to find any information asked for and derived its name from the smallest unit of computer information.-BIT:BIT was...
.
Location
Frestonia consisted of a 1.8 acres (7,284.3 m²) triangle of land (including communal gardens) formed by Freston Road, Bramley Road and Shalfleet Drive, W10, which belonged at the time to the London Borough of Hammersmith. This land crosses the boundary of London postal districts W10 (North KensingtonNorth Kensington
North Kensington is an area of west London lying north of Notting Hill Gate and south of Harrow Road.North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill...
) and W11 (Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
), and now belongs to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
.
Origins
Most of the residents of Freston Road were squattersSquatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
, who moved into empty houses in the early 1970s. When the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
planned to redevelop the area, the 120 residents first all adopted the same surname of Bramley
Bramley
- Places :England* Bramley, Derbyshire* Bramley, Hampshire* Bramley, Rotherham, South Yorkshire* Bramley, Sheffield, South Yorkshire* Bramley, Surrey* Bramley, West Yorkshire**Bramley Buffaloes rugby league clubSouth Africa* Bramley, Gauteng- Other uses :...
with the aim that the council would then have to re-house them collectively.
Independence
The Council threatened formal eviction, so at a public meeting attended by just 200 people, resident Nick Albery - inspired by both the Ealing comedy filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico
Passport to Pimlico is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starred Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius....
and a previous visit to Freetown Christiania
Freetown Christiania
Not to be confused with Christiania, Norway, another name for Oslo.Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
- suggested that they declare the street independent of the rest of the UK. A referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
returned 94% of residents in favour of the plan, and 73% in favour of joining the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
. Independence was declared on 31 October 1977. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional...
Sir Geoffrey Howe
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...
wrote expressing his support, saying "As one who had childhood enthusiasm for Napoleon of Notting Hill
The Napoleon of Notting Hill
The Napoleon of Notting Hill is a novel written by G. K. Chesterton in 1904, set in a nearly unchanged London in 1984.Although the novel is set in the future, it is, in effect, set in an 'alternate reality' of Chesterton's own period, with no advances in technology or changes in the class system or...
, I can hardly fail to be moved by your aspirations". In a legal dispute regarding the unauthorised performance of his play The Immortalist, Heathcote Williams won a ruling from the UK courts that Frestonia was for this purpose not part of the UK.
The state adopted the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
motto Nos Sumus Una Familia - We are All One Family - and applied to join the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, at the same time warning that peacekeeping troops
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
might be needed to keep the GLC at bay.
Culture, communications, transport and economy
Heathcote Williams
Heathcote Williams is an English poet, actor and award-winning playwright. He is also an intermittent painter, sculptor and long-time conjuror...
's The Immortalist. The Frestonian National Film Institute was also formed; its first screening being - appropriately - Passport to Pimlico and a film of The Sex Pistols. Local transport was served by the Number 295 bus, and the 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...
, Latimer Road tube station
Latimer Road tube station
Latimer Road Station is a London Underground station in North Kensington on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines between Wood Lane and Ladbroke Grove stations...
being at the north end of Bramley Road. There were Frestonian postage stamps (honoured by the General Post Office), as well as plans to introduce a currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
.
When the state celebrated its fifth anniversary in 1982, the population numbered 97 people occupying 23 houses. The same year, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
recorded their album Combat Rock
Combat Rock
The album received positive reviews from critics, and reached the number two on the UK Albums Chart, the number seven on the Billboard Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries...
in Ear Studios (also known as The People's Hall) in Frestonia.
Decline and fall
Following international press coverage, the residents formed the Bramleys Housing Co-operative Ltd, which negotiated with Notting Hill Housing Trust for continued residence and acceptable redevelopment of the site. Some Frestonians were unhappy with the consequent loss of independence, and moved away. According to Tony Sleep, a Frestonian resident whose online photo-journal documents the history of the area, those leaving were often replaced by people with drinking and drug problems. The remaining Frestonians proved incapable of maintaining the ideals of the Frestonian "nation," which consequently went into decline. In its place, a more conventional local community developed, without any claims to secession from the UK.Current situation
To the current day, Bramleys Housing Co-operative manages the properties owned and built on the Frestonia site by Notting Hill Housing Trust, and its members continue to live as a close-knit community. Some are children or grandchildren of the original Frestonians, although there has also been a significant influx of new residents.A large new office development, also named Frestonia, now occupies the adjacent site at the junction of Bramley Road and St Anns Road. It is occupied by the headquarters of Cath Kidston
Cath Kidston
Catherine Isabel Kidston, born 6 November 1958 and generally known as Cath Kidston, is a British fashion designer, businesswoman and author whose company, Cath Kidston Limited sells home furnishings and related goods through shops, online and by mail order. In February 2010, the company was valued...
Limited. A second large office development also named Frestonia by its developers was erected at 125/135 Freston Road in 2001.
Major developments occurred in the 2000's with the completion of environmentally-friendly headquarters buildings for Monsoon Accessorize (in 2007) and TalkTalk
TalkTalk
TalkTalk is a pay television, telecommunications and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
(in 2009) at the rear of 91-121 Freston Road,. The 150,000m² Westfield London
Westfield London
Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...
shopping complex was also finished around this time, and links Frestonia, including the two HQ buildings in Notting Dale, via a nearby footbridge over the West Cross Route
West Cross Route
The West Cross Route is a short, dual carriageway section of the A3220 route in central London in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with a small part being shared with borderlining borough Hammersmith and Fulham. It runs north-south between the northern elevated roundabout junction...
.
Cultural reactions
FrestoniaFrestonia (album)
Frestonia is the sixth album by British group Aztec Camera, released in November 1995 on the Reprise Records label. It is the last album to be released under the name of Aztec Camera: Roddy Frame's subsequent releases would be under his own name...
was the name of the final album from Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
.