North Kensington
Encyclopedia
North Kensington is an area 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...

 lying north of Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.- Location :...

 and south of Harrow Road
Harrow Road
The Harrow Road is an ancient route in Greater London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction to Harrow. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered...

.

North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of 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...

. It is where most of the violence of the Notting Hill race riots
Notting Hill race riots
The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially-motivated riots that took place in London, England over several nights in late August and early September 1958.-Context:The end of World War II had seen a marked increase in Caribbean migrants to Britain...

 of 1958 occurred, where the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...

 started and where most of the scenes in the film Notting Hill
Notting Hill (film)
Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...

were shot.

Even the area’s main transport hub, Ladbroke Grove tube station
Ladbroke Grove tube station
Ladbroke Grove is a London Underground station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, between Latimer Road and Westbourne Park stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2 set in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ....

, was originally called Notting Hill from its opening in 1864 until 1880, and Notting Hill & Ladbroke Grove between then and 1919, when it was renamed Ladbroke Grove (North Kensington). It acquired its current more simple name in 1938. The area was also once served by St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs railway station, until it closed in 1940.

Estate agents now call the super-rich area to the south Notting Hill; they are in fact referring to the neighbourhoods of Notting Hill Gate and Holland Park.

North Kensington was once an area well known for its slum housing, as documented in the photographs of Roger Mayne
Roger Mayne
Roger Mayne is an English photographer, most famous for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London.-Life and work:...

, but housing prices have now risen and the area is considered exclusive and upscale.

Waves of immigrants have arrived for at least a century including, but certainly not limited to, the Spanish, the Irish, the Jews, the West Indians, the Moroccans and many from the Horn of Africa and Eastern Europe. This constant renewal of the population makes the area one of the most cosmopolitan in the world.

Though Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove is a road in west London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is also sometimes the name given informally to the immediate area surrounding the road. Running from Notting Hill in the south to Kensal Green in the north, it is located in North Kensington and straddles...

 is the area’s main thoroughfare, its best known street is Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...

 with its street market. Many locals say that Golborne Road, at the northern end of Portobello Road, is a good representation of what Portobello Road was like before companies like Starbucks and American Apparel colonised Portobello.

North Kensington also has the largest Moroccan population in England.

Crossrail

At a site just to the east of the Old Oak Common site, Kensington and Chelsea Council has been pushing for a station at North Kensington / Kensal
Kensal Green
Kensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....

 off Ladbroke Grove & Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Rise, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area. Amongst the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and Mayor Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail's overall cost; in response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the Borough. TfL is conducting a feasibility study on the station and the project is backed by National Grid, retailers Sainsbury's and Cath Kidston, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).

Notable Residents and Natives

  • Joss Ackland
    Joss Ackland
    Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...

    , actor, born in North Kensington on February 29, 1928.
  • David Cameron
    David Cameron
    David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

    , prime minister
    Prime minister
    A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

     and leader of the Conservative Party
    Conservative Party (UK)
    The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

     resides in North Kensington.
  • Nick Clarke
    Nick Clarke
    Nicholas Campbell Clarke , was an English radio and television presenter and journalist, primarily known for his work on BBC Radio 4....

    , radio and television presenter and journalist, lived and died in North Kensington.
  • Danny Dichio, footballer, grew up in North Kensington.
  • Sabrina Guinness
    Sabrina Guinness
    Sabrina Guinness, to James Guinness and his wife Pauline, née Mander.She runs the charity Youth Cable Television in London, is an heiress in the Guinness family, and is famous for her contacts in the media world. In 1979 she dated Prince Charles before his courtship with Lady Diana Spencer.Youth...

    , former girlfriend of Prince Charles, resides in North Kensington.
  • Martin Lewis
    Martin Lewis (financial journalist)
    Martin Steven Lewis is journalist, television presenter, website entrepreneur and author in the United Kingdom, who specialises in ways to save money...

    , financial journalist, resides in North Kensington.
  • Mary Miller
    Mary Miller (actress)
    Mary Elizabeth Miller is an English television and theatrical actress, known for being a founding member of the National Theatre in 1963, and for her portrayal of Angela Dunwoody QC in ten episodes of the 1970s UK TV series Crown Court.-Early years:Mary Miller first appeared on television in 1959...

    , television and theatrical actress, resides in North Kensington.
  • Alan Mullery
    Alan Mullery
    Alan Patrick Mullery MBE is a former English football player and manager. After enjoying a successful career with Fulham and in the 1960s and 1970s, he became a manager working with several different clubs. He is now employed as a television pundit...

    , footballer, born in Notting Hill November 23, 1941.
  • John Murray
    John Murray (cricketer)
    John Thomas Murray MBE is a former English cricketer. He played in twenty one Tests for England between 1961 and 1967.-Life and career:...

    , Middlesex and England wicketkeeper, born in North Kensington, April 1, 1935.
  • Reg Routledge, Middlesex cricketer, born in North Kensington 1920.
  • Kim Yahya, Molecular biophysicist and philosopher.

External links

  • Notting Hill Nonsense, a website about life in North Kensington, the true heart of Notting Hill.
  • Golborne Life, the community website for the Golborne Road area of North Kensington.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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