houses | >Re-PHOTO

Kensington Gore and More 1988

Royal College Of Organists, Kensington Gore, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4d-61-positive_2400 — *Royal College Of Organists, Kensington Gore, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4d-61*

I’m not a great fan of organs, an instrument generally used in churches to overpower the combined forces of both choir and congregation and to glorify the immense ego of the organist intent on world domination. I think my mental predictive text tends to replace the ‘rg’ with an ‘n’, both words concerning an excessive interest in organs. Of course they can be played with sensitivity, or so I’m told. Visually organs often add interest to church interiors, and this building seems to me to perfectly express the idea of the organ, visually punning on those pipes and also having a ridiculous showoffiness.

Queen Alexandra's House, Kensington Gore, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4d-62-positive_2400 — *Queen Alexandra’s House, Kensington Gore, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4d-62*

Queen Alexandra’s House nearby also has a musical theme, but is considerably more restrained. It was founded in 1884 by Sir Francis Cook Bar to provide accommodation for women students at the Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art and the Royal College of Science, and apparently still serves a similar but wider purpose. Queen Alexandra is I think largely forgotten now. She was born in 1844 as Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, a relative of Queen Victoria, and moved up the scale when a conference of Austria, France, Prussia, Russia and the United Kingdom made her dad King of Denmark in 1863 and her brother became King of Greece.

But by this time, Queen Victoria had decided her heir Albert Edward needed a wife and although she wasn’t the first choice (and he was enjoying one of his many affairs that continued after his marriage) the two were married in 1863. When Victoria died, Albert became King Edward VII and she became Queen Alexandra. Both as Princess of Wales and Queen she carried out many royal duties and supported many charities – including the one that set up this house, and was a keen photographer, issuing a book of her photographs, Queen Alexandra’s Christmas Gift Book, to raise money for charity in 1908.

Queen's Gate Gardens, South Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-22-positive_2400 — *Queen’s Gate Gardens, South Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-22*

Rolls-Royce DYR6 enjoys a suitably elevated position in front of some suitably grand housing in Queen’s Gate Gardens. The development of 127 houses and 51 stables around the square is said to have been a model for later Victorian Garden Squares. The grand design of the houses was probably laid down by the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 who purchased a large slab of South Kensington, parts of which were used for the various museums etc.

St Stephen's Church Hall, Emperor's Gate, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-34-positive_2400 — *St Stephen’s Church, Emperor’s Gate, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-34*

This is not St Stephen’s Church which is on the corner of Gloucester Road and Southwell Gardens, but on the continuation of that road on the opposite side of Grenville Place in Emperor’s Gate and is St Stephen’s Church Hall. I think it may have been actually in use as a church when I made the photograph, but now is a health centre, a hall for hire and has a kindergarten.

This area was sold by Lord Kensington to the Metropolitan warily way in 1867 and lies just to the east of the junction where the Circle Line parts company with the District, known as the ‘Cromwell Curve’. The railway let this South Kensington Baptist Chapel be built here in 1868-9, and in 1873 it became English Presbyterian – and they added this porch. Around 1930 it became the Russian Orthodox Church in Exile.

Middle-class housing was developed here in 1871-3. Initially the developers wanted to name this Alexandra Gate (after the Princess of Wales), but this was vetoed by the authorities and they came up with Emperor’s Gate, possibly a reference to the German Emperor – another of our royal family. The Survey of London says the mews behind the road on the south side, adjoining the railway was named McLeod’s Mews after “Sir Donald McLeod, a local resident and ex-Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, who died in November 1872 after attempting to board a moving train at Gloucester Road Station, falling between train and platform and suffering fearful mutilation.”

Eldon Rd, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-52-positive_2400 — Eldon Rd, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988

Eldon Rd, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-55-positive_2400 — *Eldon Rd, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-55*

Eldon Road with its urns, lion and unicorn and at the top St George and a dragon comes at the west end of a short and rather plainer brick terrace, apparently built in 1852. But I’ve been unable to find out more about it. Eldon Road is a short street with a rather eclectic selection of houses as well as Christ Church Kensington. Hardy Amies (1909-2003) lived four doors along the road from 1961 to 1979 at 17b Eldon Road, not surprisingly making a number of alterations to the fabric.

Kensington Court Place, St Alban's Grove, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-64-positive_2400 — *Kensington Court Place, St Alban’s Grove, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4e-64*

The Builders Arms is still a pub of sorts, now a gastropub with an extensive and fairly expensive menu and craft ales on tap while I think when I took this picture it was a local where crisps and nuts and pork scratchings probably were the main foods on offer. Similarly although there is a shop opposite, it is no longer a launderette but considerably more upmarket where you can buy a pearl and jade harmony necklace for a mere £3,800. I think you now have to take your washing quite out of the area.

Clicking on any of the images will take you to the album 1988 London Photos with larger versions of these pictures and from where you can browse through over 1300 more pictures from the many I made in London that year.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

Knightsbridge and Brompton, 1988

Brompton Square, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-13-positive_2400 — *Brompton Square, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-1*3

I can’t look at the picture without thinking there should be people on folding bicycles cycling around this small oval island.

Brompton Square isn’t a square, but a long thin rectangle with a garden at its centre off the Brompton Rd, and at its far end is this rounded terrace with its own small oval of private garden in front of it. The square was developed by James Bonnin in 1821 and appears to have changed little with most of the houses now Grade II listed. Three houses sport blue plaques, including one for Stéphane Mallarmé who lived at No 6 in 1863, but the street had and has other famous residents, including “Britain’s most successful serial confidence trickster”, Achilleas Kallakis who bought No 31 at centre-right in this picture in the 2000s for £28 million, proceeding to have the garden dug out for a three-storey basement.

Andrew Ritchie, the inventor of the Brompton Bicycle company was working as a gardener in the area while working on the prototypes for his folding bike and took the name from the Brompton Oratory, whose dome was visible from his bedroom workshop. I’ve ridden a Brompton since 2002, though still prefer my 1980s road bike.

Fairholt St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-21-positive_2400 — *Fairholt St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-21*

You will search in vain for the Prince of Wales pub in Fairholt St, replaced in 2015-7 by a “Luxury infill development” featuring something like the retained pub front, a “hi-end single family dwelling, a stone throw from Harrods” which ” boasts a two-level basement, 5 bedrooms, a lift, a spa and a home cinema”, designed by AR Architecture with a construction budget of £3m. The development gained the architects the “Best Architecture Single Residence” award by the United Kingdom Property Awards 2019-20.

The pub was established in 1831 in what was then Middle Street, Montpelier Row. In 1989 it was renamed ‘The Swag & Tails’, and changed from a friendly local to a gastro-pub. According to the Closed Pubs UK web site it was bought and closed in 2009, reportedly “by Tamara Ecclestone (daughter of F1 supremo Bernie) with a view to either rebuilding or expanding the premises considerably and turn it into a late night venue.”

Montpelier Terrace, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-33-positive_2400 — *Montpelier Terrace, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-33*

This gatepost in Montpelier Terrace has lost the small and rather delicate urn which surmounted it in 1988, and the gardens here are now rather better kept and the houses in a much smarter condition. There is now very little of the small pockets of attractive dereliction that relieved the area then.

Sculpture, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-52-positive_2400 — *The Seer, Sculpture, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-52*

Gilbert Ledward (1888-1960) produced many war memorials and other monumental architecture with a number of examples still visible around London – including the Venus Fountain in Sloane Square and the bronze sculptures on the Guards Memorial in Horseguards Parade. The Seer was produced around 1957 for the forecourt of Mercury House, 195-199 Knightsbridge, built in 1956–9.

Mercury House was demolished in 2002, replaced by The Knightsbridge Apartments, completed in 2005. I don’t know what has become of ‘The Seer’. Feel free to comment if you do.

Sculpture, Edinburgh Gate, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-62-positive_2400 — *Sculpture, Edinburgh Gate, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-4b-62*

This was the last sculpture completed by Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) shortly before his death and depicts a father, mother, son and dog rushing forwards off from the plinth, encouraged by Pan, the Greek God of the Wild, playing his pipes. Variously known as The Rush of Green, Pan or The Bowater House Group, it was commissioned by the chairman of the Land Securities Investment Trust to stand in front of their newly built offices at Bowater House. When this was demolished in 2006 to be replaced by a yet more hideous new development the sculpture was removed and in 2010 re-installed some distance west in the re-located Edinburgh Gate, its figures again rushing into the green of Hyde Park.

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, Westminster, 1988 88-4c-46-positive_2400 — *Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, Westminster, 1988 88-4c-46*

Originally built as All Saints, an Anglican Church, in 1849, desinged by Lewis Vulliamy in a Lombard style rather than the prevailing Gothic, the church ran out of cash and was only completed in 1860. Then it was given a facelift in 1891-2, with a new west front based on the Basilica of St Zeno of Verona in Verona, Italy. A parish merger made the church redundant in 1955 and it was leased to a Russian Orthodox congregation, who consecrated it in the name of one of their great feasts, the Dormition of the Mother of God. It was later bought by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ennismore Mews, Knightsbridge, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea,1988 88-4c-34-positive_2400 — *Ennismore Mews, Knightsbridge, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea,1988 88-4c-34*

These mews were built for the coaches for the large houses in Ennismore Gardens and Rutland Gate with stabling for the horses and rough accomodation for the servants who looked after the horses and drove the carriages. Ennismore Mews were rather grander than most, reflecting the quality of the houses in Ennismore Gardens which were developed in the 1868-74 by Peter and Alexander Thorn. Their company also built a new Blackfriars Bridge, and used some of the stone salvaged from the old bridge to face the Ennismore Gardens houses. The mews buildings were rather more basic structures, and have been converted to residential use, now selling for around £3.75m.

Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, Westminster, 1988 88-4c-52-positive_2400 — *Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, Westminster, 1988 88-4c-52*

I was amused by the range of rather unusual structures, including the tower of Holy Trinity Brompton and the dome of the London Oratory along with some lesser features. The gateway at left is the entrance to Ennismore Garden Mews.

Click on any of the pictures to go to a larger version in my album 1988 London Photos from where you can browse these and other pictures.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

Around Pont St, 1988

Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-01-positive_2400 — *Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-01*

Back in 1988 I seem to have sentenced myself to wander extensively along Pont St, in earlier days one of London’s most fashionable streets and still one of its more expensive, linking Knightsbridge and Belgravia.

Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-55-positive_2400 — *Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-55*

Pont Street gets its name from the bridge over the river Westbourne, probably close to where Cadogan Lane now crosses the street close to its east end. Knightsbridge too was named for its bridge over this river, which flows down from Hampstead Heath to the Thames in Chelsea, passing across Sloane Square Underground Station in a very visible 19th century iron aqueduct. The bridge is still marked on maps from 1830 when the east section of Pont St was first developed but by 1840 the river had disappeared underground.

Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-56-positive_2400 — *Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-56*

Pont Street originally was developed to the east of Sloane St and was only developed to the west in the late 1870s, with building continued in the following decade. Cadogan Square was built between 1877 and 1888.

Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3j-65-positive_2400 — *Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3j-65*

‘Pont St’ became a synonym for the snobbish posh, and the architectural style of most the area around Pont St west of Sloane St was called by Osbert Lancaster ‘Pont St Dutch’. In Pevsner and Cherry’s London 3 North West, published in 1991 it is described as “tall sparingly decorated red brick mansions for very wealthy occupants, in the semi-Dutch, semi-Queen Anne manner of Shaw or George & Peto”. It is very handy for both Harrods and Sloane Square.

Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-64-positive_2400 — *Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-64*

A welcome departure from this incredible rash of red-brick is St Columba’s Church, designed by Sir Edward Maule for the Church of Scotland. Completed in 1955 it replaced the orginal 1884 St Columba’s Church on the same site which had been destroyed by bombing in 1941. I think it altogether a more attractive building than Maule’s Guildford Cathedral.

St Columba's Church Of Scotland, church, Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3j-62-positive_2400 — *St Columba’s Church Of Scotland, church, Pont St, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3j-62*

Pont Street has had some famous residents, including Lillie Langtry who lived for five years at No 21. This became a part of the Cadogan Hotel, where famously Oscar Wilde was arrested in 1985.

Hans Place, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-66-positive_2400 — *Hans Place, Knightsbridge, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-3i-66*

All pictures (and more) in my album 1988 London Photos – and you can see a larger version of the images and browse through the album by clicking on any of them.

Richmond and Clapham

Oak House, Old Palace Place, King St, Richmond, 1988 88-1a-53-positive_2400 — *Oak House, Old Palace Place, King St, Richmond, 1988*

I went to Richmond fairly often fairly in my youth some 25 years or so before I took these pictures, sometimes on my bike, on the 37 bus from Hounslow Garage or by car with a friend from school who had a part-time job and could afford to run a Morris Minor. On the bike I would generally ride around Richmond Park, and I took my first cassette of black and white film mainly of the trees there, sending them away to be processed and getting back 36 crinkle-edged black and white enprints. D & P cost something like 17s11d (around 90p) and it was several years before I could afford to take another film. The prints were a dull grey, with no trace of either white or black, but even well-printed they would have been of no great interest.

Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988 88-1a-62-positive_2400 — *Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988*

When we went together in my mate’s car, often with a third friend, it was to sit with a cup of coffee on the terrace of a coffee bar, watching the girls go by while our coffee cooled. I doubt we could ever afford more than a single cup, and certainly none of us had the nerve to talk to any of those passing girls. Richmond at the time was full of young foreign au-pairs, all rather older than us.

Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988 88-1a-02-positive_2400 — *Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988*

I think most of my bus journeys were made on my own, visiting the Palm Court Hotel to listen to jazz in the bar there, standing making a pint of bitter (probably Red Barrel or Worthington E – I then knew no better) last and last as I couldn’t afford another. It was always a rather lonely evening, with little conversation – though occasionally some older man would attempt to pick me up but I wasn’t interested. But there was some truly great music from the likes of Bobby Wellins.

Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988 88-1a-01-positive_2400 — *Flooding, River Thames, Richmond, 1988*

Later, in my thirties, I would visit Richmond regularly, having joined the photographic society there and made a few friends who shared some of my photographic interests. Club photography was in general tired and formulaic and had little to offer, but became used to doing my own thing often to the derision of the majority of the members. I still remember the frisson of revulsion when a visiting judge for an inter-club competion not only praised my entry but awarded it one of the prizes.

Flooding is frequent at Richmond, where the Thames is still tidal (though a half-lock prevents it draining out completely at low tide) and there are always motorists who ignore the warning notices. I think it comes up over parts of the towpath most months during Spring Tides. These pictures were taken in March when I had probably come on one of my regular visits to a couple of second-hand bookshops that often had decent photographic books in stock at a time when these were rare. Many were review copies, probably never reviewed but sold to the dealers as one of the perks of a poorly-paid job. I decided if ever I became a book reviewer (which eventually I did) I would never sell copies, and I didn’t though there were some I gave away, but many more I refused to take.

Heath Terrace, Wandsworth Rd, Silverthorne Rd, Clapham, Lambeth, 1988 88-3a-01-positive_2400 — *Heath Terrace, Wandsworth Rd, Silverthorne Rd, Clapham, Lambeth, 1988*

Once a month we came to visit friends in Kennington, arriving for lunch on a Sunday, and I would often travel up earlier than the rest of my family and spend some time walking around and taking pictures, and I think this may have been taken on one of those mornings. I think I will have chosen this angle on the ornamented Heath Terrace carefully, not just to show the 4 white chimneys of Battersea Power Station at left, but also the rather Lego-like tower block at right, and choosing to put a concrete post at the right edge.

Heath Terrace is still there, though I think now entirely residential, and I’m not sure you can still see the power station, certainly not in summer when Streetview is on its rounds, as that small tree has grown considerably. The concrete post, which I assume was a lamp post as well as holding some other sign has disappeared.

Clapham Manor St, Clapham, Lambeth, 1988 88-3a-04-positive_2400 — *Clapham Manor St, Clapham, Lambeth, 1988*

This Grade II listed building at 42 Clapham Manor St is now home to the London Russian Ballet School and Kids Love Lambeth. It was built in 1854, architect by James Thomas Knowles Snr, as the Clapham General Dispensary for the ‘The Clapham Sick Poor Fund’ formed in 1849 and provided free medical and surgical services for almost a century, closing in the early 1950s.

In 1959 the building was used by the London County Council for industrial training for people with special needs. It later became a pre-school playground and adult education centre, which I think it was at the time of my photograph. Shortly after in 1989 it became empty and suffered some fire damage which led to considerable internal rebuilding. Still owned by Lambeth council, it became a taxi training school until 2005-6 when the council sold the building and its considerable premises at the rear. For some years it was in illegal use as ballet studios, with this being made legal in 2013.

James Thomas Knowles Snr (1806-1884) designed the building free of charge and it was paid for by public subscription. As well as its architectural merit is is listed as one of the earliest provident dispensaries to survive in London.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

Hammersmith to Holland Park

Brook Green, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 1988 88-1a-56-positive_2400 — *Brook Green, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 1988*

Helpfully a street sign and a number inform me that this is 180 Shepherds Bush Rd, at the western edge of Brook Green. The road at one time used to wander around here but long ago traffic was routed straight through the grassy space, with both new and old road remaining as Shepherds Bush Road. There are no properties on the new section of the road, just a bus stop, traffic signs and traffic lights.

Without the information on the photo it would be hard to place this picture, as nothing visible remains of this part of the factory which housed Express Lifts and was I think part of the large Osram works which had began making carbon lamps here in 1881. It went on to produce many other types of lamps until around 1955, continuing only to produce argon and electronic valves until 1988 and was demolished the same year, with only its tower with the famous Osram Dome elsewhere on the site being saved, incorporated into the Tesco Superstore that took its place

Sinclair Rd, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 1988 88-1a-43-positive_2400 — *Sinclair Rd, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 198*8

You can still find this pair of houses on Sinclair Rd, part of one of many conservation areas in Hammersmith & Fulham. There are a number of houses with impressive paired porches on the street, substantial four storey houses dating from around 1880. This pair is one of relatively few to have retained the stucco urns under the porticos, and this is a particularly impressive example with slender columns and capitals, but I think the real attraction for me was the incredibly morose bearded and moustached crowned head at the base of a finial.

Springvale Terrace, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 1988 88-1a-32-positive_2400 — *Springvale Terrace, Hammersmith, Hammersmith & Fulham, 1988*

In the same conservation area as Sinclair Rd is a small section of very different housing. This small block which contained around 24 late Victorian terraced houses with a small Radiator Factory at its north end had been replaced by these modern buildings by 1988. The picture is taken from the road at the south side of this small estate.

St John the Baptist, Church, Holland Rd, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1a-26-positive_2400 — *St John the Baptist, Church, Holland Rd, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Crossing the railway at the bridge on Addison Gardens took me from Hammersmith & Fulham into the Holland Park area of Kensington & Chelsea and St John the Baptist Church in Holland Rd, a remarkably exuberant Grade I listed building by the distinguished Victorian church architect James Brook, “cathedral-like in scale and ambition, combining Brooks’s devotion to severe early Gothic models with a degree of material opulence not seen in his better-known East End churches”. Begun in 1872 it was completed in stages when the parish had the money and only finished after Brook’s death with finishing touches (perhaps unfortunate) by his successor John Standen Adkins in 1910.

The well-illustrated feature on the history of the church on the church web site states “St John’s is a distinguished and integrated time-capsule of the Anglo-Catholic movement. It is regularly in use for that traditional form of worship today.”

Holland Park Gardens Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1a-15-positive_2400 — *15 Holland Park Gardens, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

The London School of English is still in this imposing building in Holland Park Gardens. Perhaps surprising I avoided the wide sweep of steps leading up to its door, probably in order to emphasise the nest of balloons tied to its railings.

*Addisland Court, Holland Villas Road, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1a-11*

Addisland Court is a prestigious block of flats that screams 1930s Art Deco and its site design also very much reflects the golden age of motoring (when it was only for the rich.) A three bedroom flat here has an estimated value of around £2million. It was apparently used as a location in a couple of episodes of a TV series of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. It was built in 1936, designed by William Bryce Binnie whose other works include the East Stand at Arsenal’s old Highbury ground and who after distinguished war service had been assistant architect at the Imperial War Graves Commission for which he designed a number of memorials in France and Belgium.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

More Holland Park & Notting Dale 1988

Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-44-positive_2400 — *Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

I made these pictures in January 1988, on one of many walks around various areas of London. At the time I was working on two photographic projects, one in black and white and the other in colour. In black and white I was largely concerned with recording the physical infrastructure, photographing both buildings and streets I felt were exceptional and also examples that I thought were typical. My colour project was more difficult to explain, but both were linked to the changing nature of London.

Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-41-positive_2400 — *Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

January was a good month to take pictures of the streets. One of the smaller projects I’d undertaken was about trees in London, and in the Summer months they hide many of the buildings. Google Streetview is a great resource, but almost all the images around London appear to be from late Spring or Summer, and for some streets almost all you can see is trees. My project on the buildings of London tailed off around 1999 to 2000 because it then seemed to me that it would not be long before we would have something like Streetview with more comprehensive coverage, though it hasn’t entirely replaced the kind of pictures I took.

Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-31-positive_2400 — *Holland Park Ave, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Holland Park Avenue is an ancient route to the West from London dating back to before the Romans. In later years until the nineteenth century it was known here as the Uxbridge Road. Land to the south of it was a part of the Holland House estate and from the middle of the 18th century land to the north became owned by the Ladbroke family of wealthy bankers. In 1819 after he inherited the land James Weller Ladbroke began to develop it, beginning with the parts along the Uxbridge Road.

The first houses along the road were built in 1824, but proved difficult to let or sell being so far from the centre of London. Building on the Ladbroke estate halted in the mid-1830s but began again in the following decade. When built, each terrace had its own name and house numbers, but in 1895 this section of Uxbridge Road was renamed Holland Park Avenue and the houses renumbered. You can read more about them on the Ladbroke Association web site.

Holland Rd, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1a-35-positive_2400 — *Holland Rd, Holland Park, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Holland Road is a rather busy street that leads up from the south to the Holland Park roundabout at the western boundary of Notting Hill and was a part of the Holland estate whose development was carefully overseen by Lord and later Lady Holland. Just to its west is the railway line- now part of the London Overground network as well as carrying National Rail trains and the Underground service as far as Kensington Olympia.

The original plans for the railway in the mid 1830s had it going on a viaduct a short distance to the east close to Addison Road and new houses already built on the Holland estate, and an objection by Lord Holland moved the line to the edge of his estate and largely hidden in a cutting – as well as enabling him to see a few acres to the railway company for £5,000 and get them to largely finance a new covered sewer that ran along Holland Road enabling its development.

Kiln, Walmer Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-35-positive_2400 — *Kiln, Walmer Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Walmer Road is the oldest street in Notting Dale, an old footpath which became the main street of the area and was renamed James St in the early 19th century and Walmer Road in the 1850s. Much of the area was dug for clay and bricks and tiles were made here and the area became known as the Potteries – and also because of the pigs kept in the area, the Piggeries. It became a notorious slum area with high levels of cholera, lacking proper sanitation until a new sewer was dug around 1850. The worked out brickfield ‘Ocean’ was filled in in the 1860s, part becoming Avondale Park in 1892. The kiln, a designated Ancient Monument, is opposite the park.

Princedale Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-21-positive_2400 — *House, 106, Princedale Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Walmer Road is one of those that was cut short by the building of the Westway and it used to go north to meet Latimer Road. It now comes to an end just south of Grenfell Tower. It’s southern end is also confusing, with a junction with Princedale Road, Kenley Street, Hippodrome Place and Pottery Lane. I think Princedale Rd (formerly Prince’s Rd) along with Pottery Lane may well also have once been part of the old footpath which became Walmer Rd. The two roads run closely parallel and Pottery Lane rather looks like a mews – and its opposite side was once the stables for the racecourse.

Prince’s Road was developed piecemeal between 1841-1851. It became Princedale Road in the late 1930s to remove the confusion with several other Prince’s Roads in London. There are no listed buildings in the road which in 1978 became part of the Norland Conservation Area.

Shop, Portland Rd, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-11-positive_2400 — *Shop, Portland Rd, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

This shop on the corner of Portland Road and Clarenden Cross is still there with its half pots and name ‘Fired Earth’ a reminder of the origin of the area as the ‘Potteries’, about a hundred yards from the remaining kiln in a picture above.

My introduction to this area came in the book ‘Absolute Beginners’ by Colin MacInnes published in 1959 which I read when I was a teenager and which is loosely based around the Notting Hill race riots of 1958, later filmed. It has rather gone up in the world since then.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

Ladbroke Estate: 1988

Stanley Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1c-33-positive_2400 — *Stanley Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

When James Weller Ladbroke inherited his 300 acre largely rural estate on the western edge of London in 1819 he wanted to develop the area and employed landscape architect Thomas Allason to draw up a picturesque plan based on his visits to Italy and the London example of John Nash’s Regent’s Park. It was a plan that Ladbroke never found the money to build, but influenced some of those the estate sold land to and can still be seen in the map of the area, most of which was built up in the 1850s with large villas and terraces and in parts retained the communal private gardens between the streets.

Stanley Gardens, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1c-25-positive_2400 — *Stanley Gardens, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Stanley Crescent and Stanley Gardens were developed by Charles Blake, who returned from running a highly profitable business in India and bought the area from Felix Ladbroke in 1852. He got artist and architect Thomas Allom to design the area based on Allason’s plans.

The streets were probably named after Lord Stanley who was Prime Minister in three separate short governments from 1852 on. In them he abolished slavery and reformed Parliment and created the modern Conservative party. Building began in 1853.

Stanley Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1c-13-positive_2400 — Stanley Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988

Allom was architect for the houses on the estate and, according to the Survey of London his designs broke away from the late Georgian restraint of earlier streets inn the area “in favour of a grand display in the latest taste … with scenic effect uppermost in his mind. The design of houses, streets, gardens and tree planting is seen with a painter’s eye, so that each turn and every vista is composed in a picturesque manner…”

Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-65-positive_2400 — *Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Most of the houses remained in single ownership until after the First World War, when costs of upkeep became ridiculous and they were converted for multi-occupation and often allowed to deteriorate. By the time I took these pictures this process was in reverse, with houses being renovated and wealthier tenants paying considerably higher rents and some houses converted back to single family occupancy as the area became popular among the ultra-rich.

You can read a detailed account of the houses, many of which are listed on the Ladbroke Association web site.

Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-56-positive_2400 — *Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Landsdowne Road was also a part of the Ladbroke Estate, built around 10 years earlier than Stanley Crescent in the 1840s, while the estate was still owned by James Weller Ladbroke. He let plots to various developers to build, and the road lacks the overall view of the later area, with some quite varied houses. This suggests that the name ‘Landsdowne’ comes from “the much admired Montpellier and Lansdown residential estates in Cheltenham, built in the first three decades of the 19th century”. Alternatively it might have been named for another prime minister, William Petty, Earle of Shelburne, who served briefly in 1782-3, after which he was made 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. His major achievement as prime minister was securing a treaty which lead to the end of the American War of Independence.

Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-54-positive_2400 — *Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Again you can read a detailed account of the buildings on the street on the http://www.ladbrokeassociation.info/LansdowneRoad.htm Ladbroke Association web site.

Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1b-52-positive_2400 — *Lansdowne Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

When I was taking these pictures in 1988, information about this and many other areas of London was relatively hard to find. There was of course no World Wide Web and few books with any detailed description outside the City of London and some parts of Westminster. The volume of The Buildings of England by Cherry and Pevsner for this area was only published in 1991. In areas such as this, almost all I had to guide me was the A-Z and other street maps.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

Holland Park & Notting Hill

Holland Park, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-64-positive_2400 — *Holland Park, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Holland Park is a street in London as well as an actual park and the name of a tube station which has transferred to an area of Kensington to the west of Notting Hill. Virtually every house in the street is listed – I think 88 of them. The exception is the Greek Embassy at No.1. This had been the most interesting house in the street. Built in 1860 it was bought in 1864 by banker Alexander C. Ionides (1810-1890), who had been Greek Consul General in London from 1854 to 1856. He and his son who inherited the house were wealthy Greek business men and patrons of the arts – and from 1864 and they transformed the property, commisioning external work leading Victorian architect Philip Webb, who also gave it a grand staircase and other fine public rooms, with internal decorative work by the leading figures of the day, including Willliam Morris who supervised much of the work and whose company provided much of it. It became a meeting-place for all London’s leading artists coming to its Sunday open house in the 1880s and 90s. The family moved out in 1898 and the house was sold a few years late.

Holland Park, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-61-positive_2400 — *Holland Park, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

The interior of 1 Holland Park was meticulously recorded by the leading architectural photographer of the day, Henry Bedford Lemere as well as in the work of others. But the new owners – who were also the owners of nearby Holland House – did not treat it well, whitewashing over the William Morris ceilings. The house was badly damaged by bombing in WW2 and was sold with Holland House and the park to the London County Council in 1952, when it was reported that little worth preserving remained and the house was demolished. The building which now houses the Greek Embassy was built in 1962 by architects Playne & Lacey and bought by Greece in 1973. An article available online gives muuch more detail on the Ionides family and the house

Holland Park Mews, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-63-positive_2400 — *Holland Park Mews, Holland Park, Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Holland Park is actually two parallel streets, each stuffed with listed houses, built under the watchful eye of Lady Holland who saw to it that they met her standards, though at the time they were not felt to be anything special – typical houses for the wealthy. And the wealthy needed carriages which required to be kept at hand, along with the horses to draw them. They and the men who looked after them lived in the mews between the two streets, and would be drive the carriages around when required to the front doors – and the rich would emerge from those iron and glass porte cochères to ride in them.

Stoneleigh Place, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-35-positive_2400 — *Stoneleigh Place, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

A short distance north of Holland Park, some housing is on a less grand scale.

Freston Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-24-positive_2400 — *Freston Rd, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Another picture from Freston Road. The London City Mission built The People’s Hall on Latimer Road in the Kensington Piggeries in 1902, when parts of the area were one of the worst slums in London. This part of Latimer Road was renamed Freston Road when the construction of the Westway and the West Cross Route cut it in half. The hall on the corner of Olaf St became the centre of the Free and Independent Republic of Frestonia in 1977. Probably it’s best known now as the place where much of The Clash’s album Combat Rock was recorded.

Royal Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1c-61-positive_2400 — *Royal Crescent, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Royal Crescent is at the western edge of Holland Park/Notting Hill, just to the north of Holland Park Avenue, just east of the Holland Park roundabout. It was one of the earliest parts of the Norland Estate to be developed in the 1840s, to the estate plan of Robert Cantwell and is Grade II* listed. It took a long time to rent these properties, which were thought to be too far out from London in the days of horse-drawn traffic for the wealthy.

St Ann's Villas, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1d-32-positive_2400 — *St Ann’s Villas, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

St Anne’s Villas leads north from the centre of the Royal Crescent, and is on one of the routes I’ve sometimes walked more recently from Shepherd’s Bush station to join the silent walks remembering Grenfell.

St Ann's Villas, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1c-52-positive_2400 — *St Ann’s Villas, Notting Hill, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

St Anne’s Villas were built as a part of the Norland Estate, mainly around 1845. The area was developed by by Charles Richardson with barrister Charles Stewart taking building licences from him for these Tudor Gothic revival semi-deatched houses, now Grade II listed.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

North Kensington

There were several reasons I used to like going to this area of North Kensington to make photographs, one of which was that when people asked me where I had been I could tell them I’d been to the North Pole, which was just down past the end of Barlby Rd on North Pole Rd. Sadly the North Pole was bought by a property company in 2012 who turned the upper floors into flats and soon closed the pub which became a Tesco Express around 2015.

Pall Mall Deposit, Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-53-positive_2400 — *Pall Mall Deposit, Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

The Pall Mall Deposit and Forwarding Co became a limited company in 1899, with premises just off Regent St, and built this large storage facility to the design of W G Hunt in 1911 (the often given date of 1901 is most probably a much-quoted typo.) Furniture storage was quite big business at the time as a large proportion of the more affluent lived in rented houses, often moving frequently. The building extends some way back from Barlby Road and has been a rather trendy centre for offices, studios etc, selling itself as close to Portobello Road.

Ladbroke Hall, Clement-Talbot Motor Works, Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-52-positive_2400 — *Ladbroke Hall, Clement-Talbot Motor Works, Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Barlby Road was also the location of the first purpose built English car factory, the Clement-Talbot Motor Works built from 1903-11, architect William T Walker. According to Cherry and Pevsner (London 3 : North West) this reinforced concrete building used the Hennebique system, but for the office building fronting the road this was well-disguised by “a festive Wrennaisance front”.

Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea 88-1f-46-positive_2400 — *Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea*

North of the Great Western mainline, which bisects the area, is its greatest architectural gem, Kensal House, built in 1936 by Maxwell Fry leading a small group of like-minded architects. Even in the rather run-down state I photographed it, the ensemble is impressive. It’s and impressive modernist building and rather more functional than some, and the low cost flats included what were for the time some very up-to-date features.

Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea 88-1f-45-positive_2400 — *Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea*

The site was developed by the Gas Light & Coke Company who owned the site and the adjoining gas works to provide housing for their employees – 54 three-bedroom and 14 two-bed flats- and virtually everything – down to the irons – was gas powered. Of course gas lighting was still very common – and in my youth there were still many older people who preferred its more gentle light. But as built there was no electricity in these gas company flats.

Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea 88-1f-42-positive_2400 — *Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea*

As well as two large blocks of flats the site also contained a nursery, with a curved frontage that ran around the former site of a gas holder. One of those who worked with Fry on the designs was social reformer Elizabeth Denby who had also worked with him at the Peckham Health Centre.

Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea 88-1f-34-positive_2400 — *Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea*

The gas works have gone, with Sainsbury’s and Argos in their place, but the railway remains. Some of these flats must have been great places for train spotters, but the Kings and Castles thundering past might have upset the sleep in those days of single glazing and poor sound insulation. And gas works did produce some fairly noxious odours and pollution, though if they provided your living that probably seemed less of a problem.

Kensal Green Basin, Grand Union Canal, Paddington Branch, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-35-positive_2400 — *Kensal Green Basin, Grand Union Canal, Paddington Branch, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

You can still see Kensal Green Basin when you go to get your shopping at Sainsbury’s on Canal Way, though it is largely well hidden behing bushes around the car park and seems an missed opportunity – as do many of the planning decisions in this area. A large and ugly canalside building now straddles its entrance from the canal. Further along Canal Way there are still a couple of gas holders at the west end of the gas works site.

Exmoor St,North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-26-positive_2400 — *Exmoor St,North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Late Victorian Housing on Exmoor St with some nice detailing and later railings.

Hewer St,North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-25-positive_2400 — *Hewer St,North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

At left is the Grade II listed St Charles’ Hospital in Exmoor St, built in 1881 as the St Marylebone Union Infirmary. Surprisingly it is still in medical use, providing mental health services and as a community health centre. Part of the building are rather more attractive than this view suggests. John Nodes and Sons Ltd provided a very handily based funeral service.

Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988 88-1f-22-positive_2400 — *Barlby Rd, North Kensington, Kensington & Chelsea, 1988*

Finally back to Barlby Rd, and a terrace of houses still present close to Ladbroke Grove. On the left you can still see one of the gas holders of the Kensington Gas Works, and to the right of the block the Great Western Mainline and one of the blocks of Kensal House.

As usual there are a few more pictures from my walks around the area in 1988 in the album, and clicking on any of the pictures here should take you to a larger version in the album from which you can move through it to see all those I have put online.

All photographs on this and my other sites, unless otherwise stated, are taken by and copyright of Peter Marshall, and are available for reproduction or can be bought as prints.

More Battersea 1988

Welsh Chapel, Beauchamp Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-56-positive_2400 — *Welsh Chapel, Beauchamp Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

The only one of my four grandparents I ever knew was a small lady dressed always in black, who seldom moved far from the fire and range in the back room of their house. I don’t remember her ever saying much, though I think she was still very much in charge in the house where she lived with my three maiden aunts, where our Sunday afternoons were strictly observed with only quiet activities and good books allowed, though I think we children sometimes escaped to the wilder parts of the large garden where we were out of sight. She was a Baptist, though the church she and the aunts were members of was a few miles further out of London, though having been born in Llansaintfred, Radnor she would have been home at the Welsh Chapel. Eliza Ann Davies came up to London to work in a Welsh Diary on the Kings Cross Road owned by an uncle, and it was there that she met my grandfather, Frederick Marshall, a young wheelwright and blacksmith, came into the shop some time in the late 1880s and they were married in 1890. I never met him as he was killed in a road accident 12 years before I was born.

Lavender Hill, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-54-positive_2400 — *Lavender Hill, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

This impressive range of shops can still be seen on Lavender Hill, just to the east of Clapham Junction station – the pub glimpsed in the distance is The Falcon on the corner of Falcon Rd. But while the Falcon is still in business, every single shop has I think changed hands since I took this in 1988. I took a few other pictures on the main shopping streets, including St John’s Hill and St John’s Road some of which I’ve posted in the Flickr album these pictures come from.

St John's Rd, Battersea Rise, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-35-positive_2400 — *St John’s Rd, Battersea Rise, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

The corner of St John’s Rd and Battersea Rise still looks much the same, and the Northcote Arms is still there, though with some new signage. Rhino sports has gone and in its place you can now get acupuncture and other health and beauty treatments. The place of Angel shoes has been taken by a hairdressers, its hanging sign gone, though the iron bracket from which it hung is still in place. And pedestrians are no longer fenced in at the junction.

Aliwal Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-33-positive_2400 — *Aliwal Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

Many quite ordinary houses such as these were finished with interesting detail as on these houses in Aliwal Road. It was I suppose then a relatively inexpensive way to add a touch of class, or perhaps a builder’s edpression of pride in his work.

Broomwood Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-15-positive_2400 — *Broomwood Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

65 Broomwood Road is no longer a dentists, and has lost all those signs, as well as the details of its glazing, but the door and the side panels remain as well as the decoration above. It is at the end of a short row of similar houses on the street,

Webbs Rd, Shelgate Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-13-positive_2400 — *Webbs Rd, Shelgate Rd, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

Like many corner shops in London, Sacha Wines on the corner of Webbs Rd and Shelgate Rd has now been converted for residential use and customers have to go elsehwere for ‘Food, Wines, Beers, Spirits’ etc. Most of these photos were probably taken as I wandered towards Webbs Rd, not for Sacha Wines, but for the Wandsworth Photo-Co-op.

Bellson & Co, Battersea Rise, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988 88-2d-26-positive_2400 — *Bellson & Co, Battersea Rise, Battersea, Wandsworth, 1988*

You can still fine the ball on top of a pillar on Battersea Rise, a few yards up on the south side from Northcote Road, but it takes a little imagination to recognise the scene in my 1988 photograph. The shopfront has gone and 73a is now a house, while Bellson & Co has added an extra floor, though still retaining the bay windows and porch. The changes have been made in a way that integrates pretty seamlessly and without that ball (the pillar is now exposed brick) I would have found it hard to convince myself that this was indeed the same place.

Clicking on any of the pictures in this post will take you to a larger version in my album 1988 London Photos.