Editing Notting Hill

{{short description|Area of London, England}}
{{about|the district of London|the film set in the district|Notting Hill (film){{!}}''Notting Hill'' (film)|Notting Hill in Melbourne, Australia|Notting Hill, Victoria|Notting Hill in Ottawa|Notting Gate}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = England
| region = London
| static_image_name = London 110.jpg
| static_image_caption = Notting Hill
| population = 
| official_name = Notting Hill
| london_borough = Kensington and Chelsea
| constituency_westminster = [[Kensington and Bayswater (UK Parliament constituency)|Kensington and Bayswater]]
| post_town = LONDON
| postcode_district = W2, NW10, W10, W11
| postcode_area = W
| dial_code = 020
| os_grid_reference = TQ245805
| coordinates = {{coord|51.5096|-0.2043|display=inline,title}}
| charingX_distance_mi = 3.5
| charingX_direction = ESE
}}
'''Notting Hill''' is a district of [[West London]], England,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/LP2011%20Chapter%202.pdf|title=London's Places|work=[[London Plan]]|publisher=[[Greater London Authority]]|year=2011|page=46|access-date=27 May 2014|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906090756/http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/LP2011%20Chapter%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]. Notting Hill is known for being a [[wikt:cosmopolitan|cosmopolitan]] and [[multiculturalism|multicultural]] neighbourhood, hosting the annual [[Notting Hill Carnival]] and the [[Portobello Road]] Market.<ref>{{cite web | title = Portobello Road | publisher = London Online | url = http://www.londononline.co.uk/articles/Portobello_Road/ | access-date = 18 February 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100223084050/http://www.londononline.co.uk/articles/Portobello_Road/ | archive-date = 23 February 2010 | url-status = dead }}</ref> From around 1870, Notting Hill had an association with artists.<ref name="L1">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=45230] 'Notting Hill and Bayswater', Old and New London: Volume 5 (1878), pp. 177-88.</ref>

For much of the 20th century, the large houses were subdivided into multi-occupancy rentals. [[Continental Europe|Continental]] [[Eastern Europeans in the United Kingdom|Europeans]], [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbeans]] ([[British African-Caribbean people|African Caribbeans]], [[Indo-Caribbean people|Indian Caribbeans]], and [[White Caribbeans]]), [[Black British people|Africans]], [[British Indian|Indians]], [[British Arabs|Arabs]], [[British Asians|Asians]], [[British Jews|Jewish]], [[Latin American migration to the United Kingdom|Central Americans]], [[Latin American migration to the United Kingdom|South Americans]], [[Pacific Islander|Pacific Islanders]], [[Irish people in Great Britain|Irish]], [[People of Northern Ireland|Northern Irish]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Welsh people|Welsh]], and other immigrants were drawn to the area in the 1950s and 1960s, partly because of the cheap rents, but were exploited by slum landlords like [[Peter Rachman]] and also became the target of white [[Teddy Boy]]s in the [[1958 Notting Hill race riots]].{{Cn|date=August 2024}}

By the early 21st century, after decades of [[gentrification]], Notting Hill had gained a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area,<ref>{{cite web | title = West London | publisher = London Hotels .com | url = http://www.londonhotels.com/london/areas/west-london/ | access-date = 18 February 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110106044145/http://www.londonhotels.com/london/areas/west-london/ | archive-date = 6 January 2011}}</ref> known for attractive [[terraced house|terraces]] of large [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] townhouses and high-end shopping and restaurants (particularly around [[Westbourne Grove]] and Clarendon Cross). A ''[[The Daily Telegraph|Daily Telegraph]]'' article in 2004 used the phrase "the [[Notting Hill set]]"<ref>{{Cite journal| last = Watt | first = Nicholas | title = Tory Bright Young Things | journal=The Guardian | location = London| date = 28 July 2004| url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jul/28/conservatives.uk1 | access-date = 18 February 2010}}</ref> to refer to a group of emerging [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] politicians, such as [[David Cameron]] and [[George Osborne]], who would become respectively Prime Minister and [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] and were once based in Notting Hill.

==History==
Notting Hill is in the ceremonial county of [[Greater London]] although it was formerly a hamlet on rural land until the expansion of urban London during the 19th century. As late as 1870, even after the hamlet had become a London suburb, Notting Hill was still popularly referred to as being in Middlesex rather than in London.<ref>{{cite web|title=Notting Hill Middlesex|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20392|website=A vision of Britain through time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

===Origin of the name===
The origin of the name "Notting Hill" is uncertain<ref>{{cite news | title=Notting Hill: Mandelson in good company | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/240416.stm | publisher=BBC News | date=22 December 1998 | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref> though an early version appears in the [[Patent Rolls]] of 1356 as Knottynghull,<ref>{{cite web | title=Kensington and Chelsea | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/314954/Kensington-and-Chelsea | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Kensington | url=http://www.worley.org.uk/NOTTING%20DALE.htm | access-date=17 February 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907093625/http://worley.org.uk/NOTTING%20DALE.htm | archive-date=7 September 2008 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> while an 1878 text, Old and New London, reports that the name derives from a manor in Kensington called "Knotting-Bernes", "Knutting-Barnes", or "Nutting-barns",<ref name="L1" /> and goes on to quote from a court record during [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s reign that "the manor called Notingbarons, alias Kensington, in the parish of Paddington, was held of the Abbot of Westminster." For years, it was thought to be a link with Canute, but it is now thought likely that the "Nott" section of the name is derived from the [[Old English language|Saxon]] personal name Cnotta,<ref>{{Cite news | title=Inside Notting Hill |work=The Times | first=Sarah | last=Anderson | url=http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/holiday_type/travel_and_literature/article1967240.ece | date=21 June 2007 | access-date=17 February 2009 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> with the "ing" part generally accepted as coming from the Saxon for a group or settlement of people.<ref>{{cite web | title=-ing | url=http://www.glaucus.org.uk/-ing.htm | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref>

===Potteries and Piggeries===
[[File:Walmer rd kiln.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Brick-making kiln, Walmer Road, north of [[Pottery Lane]].]]
{{main|Pottery Lane}}
The area in the west around Pottery Lane was used in the early 19th century for making bricks and tiles out of the heavy clay dug in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://londongeographies.com/infrastructure/community-responses-to-infrastructure-projects-in-notting-dale|title=Community Responses to Infrastructure Projects in Notting Dale|last=Hardman|first=Josh|date=18 August 2018}}{{Dead link|date=March 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The clay was shaped and fired in a series of brick and tile kilns.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/london_history/pottery_lane.shtml "London streets - Pottery Lane"], BBC London, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041201012236/http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/london_history/pottery_lane.shtml |date=1 December 2004 }}</ref> The only remaining 19th-century tile kiln in London is on Walmer Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/wknottinghillroute.htm|title=Notting Hill|website=www.london-footprints.co.uk}}</ref> In the same area, pig farmers moved in after being forced out of the [[Marble Arch]] area. [[Avondale Park]] was created in 1892 out of a former area of pig [[slurry]] called "the Ocean". This was part of a general clean-up of the area which had become known as the Potteries and Piggeries.

===19th-century development===
{{main|Ladbroke Estate}}
The area remained rural until London's westward expansion reached [[Bayswater]] in the early 19th century. The Ladbroke family was Notting Hill's main landowner, and from the 1820s [[James Weller Ladbroke]] began to develop the Ladbroke Estate. Working with the architect and surveyor [[Thomas Allason]], Ladbroke began to lay out streets and houses, with a view to turning the area into a fashionable suburb of the capital (although the development did not get seriously under way until the 1840s). Many of these streets bear the Ladbroke name, including [[Ladbroke Grove]], the area's main north–south axis, and [[Ladbroke Square]], London's largest private [[garden square]].

The original idea was to call the district [[Kensington Park, London|Kensington Park]], and other roads (notably [[Kensington Park Road]] and [[Kensington Park Gardens]]) are reminders of this. The local telephone [[Telephone numbering plan|prefix]] 0207 727 (originally 727, the 0207 indicating Central London)) is based on the [[Director telephone system|old telephone exchange]] name of PARk.<ref>[http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/phreak/tenp_01.htm London Director system exchange names.<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525024839/http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/phreak/tenp_01.htm |date=25 May 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:London 104.jpg|thumb|left|upright|An antique dealer on [[Portobello Road]]]]
[[File:Allason plan 1823.jpg|thumb|upright|Thomas Allason's 1823 plan for the development of the [[Ladbroke Estate]], consisting of a large central circus with radiating streets and garden squares, or "paddocks".]]
Ladbroke left the actual business of developing his land to the firm of [[City of London|City]] solicitors, Smith, Bayley (known as Bayley and Janson after 1836), who worked with Allason to develop the property. In 1823 Allason completed a plan for the layout of the main portion of the estate. This marks the genesis of his most enduring idea – the creation of large private communal gardens, originally known as "pleasure grounds", or "paddocks", enclosed by terraces and/or crescents of houses.

Instead of houses being set around a garden square, separated from it by a road, Allason's houses would have direct access to a secluded communal garden in the rear, to which people on the street did not have access and generally could not see. To this day these [[communal garden]] squares continue to provide the area with much of its attraction for the wealthiest householders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=49874|title=The Ladbroke estate: The 1820s and 1830s - British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Environs of London Davies map 1841.jpg|left|thumb|1841 map of the Environs of London, showing the [[Kensington Hippodrome|Hippodrome]] in the upper left hand corner.]]
In 1837 the [[Kensington Hippodrome|Hippodrome]] racecourse was laid out.<ref>{{Cite news|url= http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/england/article727749.ece |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080830081836/http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/destinations/england/article727749.ece |url-status= dead |archive-date= 30 August 2008 | work=The Times | location=London | title=Notting Hill on foot | first=Sara | last=McConnell | date=6 February 2006 | access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref> The racecourse ran around the hill, and bystanders were expected to watch from the summit of the hill. However, the venture was not a success, in part due to a public right of way which traversed the course, and in part due to the heavy clay of the neighbourhood which caused it to become waterlogged. The Hippodrome closed in 1841, after which development resumed and houses were built on the site. The crescent-shaped roads that circumvent the hill, such as [[Blenheim Crescent]], [[Elgin Crescent]], Stanley Crescent, Cornwall Crescent and Landsdowne Crescent, were built over the circular racecourse tracks. At the summit of hill stands the elegant [[St John's Notting Hill|St John's church]], built in 1845 in the early English style, and which formed the centrepiece of the Ladbroke Estate development.

The Notting Hill houses were large, but they did not immediately succeed in enticing the very richest Londoners, who tended to live closer to the centre of London in [[Mayfair]] or [[Belgravia]]. The houses appealed to the upper middle class, who could live there in Belgravia style at lower prices. In the opening chapter of [[John Galsworthy]]'s ''[[Forsyte Saga]]'' novels, he housed the Nicholas Forsytes "in Ladbroke Grove, a spacious abode and a great bargain".<ref>[[John Galsworthy]], ''The Man of Property'', Chapter 1, published 1906.</ref> In 1862 [[Thomas Hardy]] left Dorchester for London to work with architect [[Arthur Blomfield]]; during this period he lived in Westbourne Park Villas. He immersed himself in the city's literary and cultural life, studying art, visiting the [[National Gallery]], attending the theatre and writing prose and poetry. His first published story, "How I Built Myself a House", appeared in ''[[Chamber's Journal]]'' in 1865. Here he wrote his first―but never published―novel, ''The Poor Man and the Lady'', in 1867, and the poem "A Young Man's Exhortation", from which [[Graham Greene]] took an epigraph for his own novel ''[[The Comedians (novel)|The Comedians]]''. [[Arthur Machen]] (1863–1947), the author of many supernatural and fantastic fictions, lived at 23 [[Clarendon Road]], Notting Hill Gate, in the 1880s; he writes of his life here in his memoirs ''Far Off Things'' (1922) and ''Things Near and Far'' (1923). His mystical work ''[[The Hill of Dreams]]'' (1907, though written ten years earlier) has scenes set in Notting Hill; it is here that the protagonist Lucian Taylor encounters the beautiful bronze-haired prostitute who will later connive at his death.

===Early to mid-20th century===
[[File:PinehurstCourt.jpg|thumb|Nos 1–9 Colville Gardens, now known as [[Pinehurst Court]], showing [[All Saints Notting Hill|All Saints]]' church in the background]]
The reputation of the district altered over the course of the 20th century. As middle-class households ceased to employ servants, the large Notting Hill houses lost their market and were increasingly split into multiple occupation. During [[the Blitz]] a number of buildings were damaged or destroyed by the [[Luftwaffe]], including [[All Saints Notting Hill|All Saints' Church]], which was hit in 1940 and again in 1944. In the postwar period the name Notting Hill evoked a down-at-heel area of cheap lodgings, epitomised by the racketeering landlord [[Peter Rachman]] and the murders committed by [[John Christie (murderer)|John Christie]] in 10 Rillington Place, since demolished. The area to the north east, Golborne, was particularly known for being, in the words of [[Charles Booth (philanthropist)|Charles Booth]], "one of the worst areas in London".<ref>{{cite web | title=One thousand years of Goldborne | publisher=Golborne Life | url=http://www.golbornelife.co.uk/golbornehistory.html | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref> Southam Street in Kensal Green had 2,400 people living in 140 nine-roomed houses in 1923, and the slum children from this street were documented in the 1950s photographs of [[Roger Mayne]].

In late August and early September 1958, the [[1958 Notting Hill race riots|Notting Hill race riots]] occurred. The series of disturbances are thought to have started on 30 August when a gang of white youths attacked a Swedish woman, [[Majbritt Morrison]], who was married to a West Indian man (Raymond Morrison), following a previous incident in Latimer Road tube station.<ref>[[BBC News]]: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1355718.stm Long history of race rioting], [[British Broadcasting Corporation]], 28 May 2001.</ref> Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, including many "[[Teddy Boy]]s", were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents. The disturbances, [[Race riot|racially-motivated rioting]] and attacks continued every night until they petered out by 5 September.

The dire housing conditions in Notting Hill led [[Bruce Kenrick]] to found the [[Notting Hill Housing Trust]] in 1963, helping to drive through new housing legislation in the 1960s and found the national housing organisation [[Shelter (charity)|Shelter]] in 1966.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070206195243/http://www.nottinghillhousing.org.uk/news.aspx?id_Content=731 "Reverend Bruce Kenrick"], Nottinghill Houing, 22 January 2007.</ref> Nos 1–9 Colville Gardens, now known as [[Pinehurst Court]], had become so run down by 1969 that its owner, Robert Gubay of Cledro Developments, described conditions in the buildings as "truly terrible".<ref>Jan O'Malley ''The Politics of Community Action in Notting Hill'', Spokesman Press, 1977</ref>

The slums were cleared during redevelopment in the 1960s and 1970s when the [[Westway (London)|Westway Flyover]] and [[Trellick Tower]] were built. It is now home to a vibrant community, mainly Mediterranean Spanish and Moroccan, together with Portuguese.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Exotic eats in West London | url=http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/food/article/1157140145760?packedargs=suffix%3DSubSectionArticle | first=Tom | last=Maggoch | publisher=The London Paper | department=The London Style | date=20 December 2006 | access-date=17 February 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109012910/http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/food/article/1157140145760?packedargs=suffix%3DSubSectionArticle | archive-date=9 January 2009 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Late 20th-century gentrification===
By the 1980s, single-occupation houses began to return to favour with families who could afford to occupy them, and because of the open spaces and stylish architecture Notting Hill is today one of London's most desirable areas.<ref name="BBC NEWS">{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4314926.stm |title=Proud to be a Notting Hill Tory |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 June 2009 |date=6 October 2005}}</ref> Several parts of Notting Hill are characterised by handsome stucco-fronted pillar-porched houses, often with private gardens, notably around Pembridge Place and Dawson Place and streets radiating from the southern part of Ladbroke Grove, many of which lead onto substantial communal gardens. There are grand terraces, such as Kensington Park Gardens, and large villas as in [[Pembridge Square]] and around Holland Park. There is also new construction of modern houses tucked away on backland sites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Light House|url=http://us.archello.com/en/project/light-house-2|website=archello.com|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Notting hill colorful houses.jpg|thumb|Notting Hill is full of colourful houses.]]
Since at least 2000, independent shops in Portobello such as Culture Shack have lost out to multinational standardised chains such as [[Starbucks]].<ref>{{Cite news | title=Gap? Starbucks? On Portobello Road, darling? | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/gap-starbucks-on-portobello-road-darling-516154.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/gap-starbucks-on-portobello-road-darling-516154.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |first=Mary |last=Braid |work=The Independent |date=20 November 2005 |access-date=8 December 2013 }}</ref> In 2009, Lipka's Arcade, a large indoor antiques market, was replaced by the high-street chain [[AllSaints]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dealers mobilise over threat to Portobello | url=http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2010/feb/01/dealers-mobilise-over-threat-to-portobello |work=Antiques Gazette |date=1 February 2010 | access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref> Reflecting the increasing demise of one of the most culturally vibrant parts of [[central London]], the 2011 Census showed that in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in which Notting Hill is situated, the number of Black or Black British and White Irish residents, two of the traditionally largest ethnic minority groups in Notting Hill, declined by 46 and 28 percent respectively in ten years.<ref>{{Cite news | title=Census 2011: Truth where you live |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/interactive/2012/dec/13/census-2011-truth-where-you-live-interactive | date=13 December 2012 | access-date= 8 December 2013}}</ref>

The district adjoins two large public parks, [[Holland Park]] and [[Kensington Gardens]], with [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] within {{convert|1| mi| km| 1}} to the east. The gentrification has encompassed some streets that were among the 1980s' most decrepit, including the now expensive retail sections of [[Westbourne Grove]] and Ledbury Road, as well as Portobello Road's emergence as a top London tourist attraction and Chamberlayne Road as a local shopping street with its boutique independent shops. Notting Hill has a high concentration of restaurants, including the two Michelin-rated [[The Ledbury]] and Core by [[Clare Smyth]].

==Geography==
[[File:Notting Hill Royal Borough Of K&C Council Map Outlining the Official Area of Notting Hill and the Surrounding Areas 2018.jpg|thumb|left|Notting Hill Royal Borough of K&C Council map outlining the official area of Notting Hill and its surrounding areas, 2018]]
The hill from which Notting Hill takes its name is still clearly visible, with its summit in the middle of [[Ladbroke Grove]], at the junction with [[Kensington Park Gardens]].

Notting Hill has no official boundaries, so definitions of which areas fall under Notting Hill vary. The postcode "W11", centred on the former<ref>{{cite web|title=Council's anger over Notting Hill Post Office closure|url=https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/pressrelease/pressreleasePage.aspx?id=1548|website=www.rbkc.gov.uk|publisher=Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|access-date=29 January 2018}}</ref> site of the Post Office in [[Westbourne Grove]], near the junction with Denbigh Road, is the one most closely associated with Notting Hill. It covers the central part of Notting Hill, and is situated between the A402 (Holland Park Avenue) to the south and the Westway to the north. Notting Hill is made up of four sub areas plus Notting Hill itself. In the north west is [[Kensal Green]]…[[North Kensington]] in the south west while to the north east is [[Kensal Town]] and South east of the area is Westbourne Park and [[Notting Hill]]. These areas are separated by the by westway(north-south axis) and [[Ladbroke Grove]] which runs through the area north-south.
The local historian Florence Gladstone, in her much reprinted work "Notting Hill in Bygone Days" defines Notting Hill as the whole of that part of Kensington which is north of the road known as Notting Hill Gate.

[[North Kensington]] is considered the major neighbourhood of Notting Hill, but [[Kensal Green]], [[Latimer Road]] and Westbourne Park are also part of Notting Hill;<ref name=LondonEncyc>{{cite book|title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]] |editor-first1=Ben |editor-last1=Weinreb |editor-first2=Christopher |editor-last2=Hibbert |publisher=Macmillan London Ltd |year=1983}}</ref> though [[estate agents]] differentiate [[North Kensington]] and Notting Hill as distinct areas with [[Westbourne, London|Westbourne]] considered part of Notting Hill and Kensal considered part of North Kensington. Locally the areas of [[Portobello Road|Portobello]], [[North Kensington]], [[Kensal Green|Kensal]] are referred to as Ladbroke Grove, the main thoroughfare and tube station at the heart of Notting Hill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.primelocation.com/area-guides/article/property-to-rent-in-north-kensington |title=PrimeLocation |publisher=PrimeLocation |access-date=20 May 2014}}</ref> That part of the [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]] roughly encompassed by the electoral wards of Saint Charles, Golborne, Notting Barns, Colville, Norland, and Pembridge,<ref>[http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/YourCouncil/YourCouncillor/default.asp#b Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080128142235/http://rbkc.gov.uk/YourCouncil/YourCouncillor/default.asp#b |date=28 January 2008 }} Electoral wards</ref> which is bounded on the north by Harrow Road and on the south by [[Notting Hill Gate]] and [[Holland Park Avenue]], includes all areas known as Notting Hill, including Notting Barns,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://cms.met.police.uk/met/boroughs/kensington_chelsea/03working_with_the_community/safer_neighbourhoods/north_kensington/notting_barns |title=Notting Barns – Metropolitan Police Service |publisher=cms.met.police.uk |access-date=7 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620215548/http://cms.met.police.uk/met/boroughs/kensington_chelsea/03working_with_the_community/safer_neighbourhoods/north_kensington/notting_barns |archive-date=20 June 2009 }}</ref> the centre of the Notting Hill race riot.<ref>[http://www.historytalk.org/Notting%20Hill%20History%20Timeline/timelinechap7.pdf Notting Hill History Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821151226/http://www.historytalk.org/Notting%20Hill%20History%20Timeline/timelinechap7.pdf |date=21 August 2008 }}, historytalk.org. Retrieved 7 June 2009</ref> [[David Cameron]], former leader of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], is known as part of the "Notting Hill Set", though he states he lives in North Kensington.<ref name="BBC NEWS"/>
[[File:Notting Haill Gate shops (2021) Kensaington Park Road.jpg|thumb|right|Notting Hill Gate shops (2021) Kensington Park Road]]
There are five tube stations in the area: [[Ladbroke Grove tube station|Ladbroke Grove]], [[Westbourne Park tube station|Westbourne Park]], [[Latimer Road tube station|Latimer Road]], [[Notting Hill Gate tube station|Notting Hill Gate]] and  [[Kensal Green tube station|Kensal Green]]. Notting Hill is part of the parliamentary constituency of [[Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)|Kensington]], represented by Conservative [[Felicity Buchan]] since the 2019 general election.

==Areas of Notting Hill==
===Ladbroke Grove===
{{main|Ladbroke Grove}}
Ladbroke Grove is a road running down the west side of Notting Hill, stretching up to [[Kensal Green]], straddling the W10 and W11 [[London postal district|postal districts]], and also the name of the immediate area surrounding the road. [[Ladbroke Grove tube station]] is on the road where it is crossed by the [[Westway (London)|Westway]].

===Notting Hill Gate===
{{main|Notting Hill Gate}}
A [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] gate was constructed at the foot of the hill on the main road from London to Uxbridge, now [[Oxford Street]], Bayswater Road and Holland Park Avenue along this part of its route. The point at which the turnpike gate stood was known as Notting Hill Gate. The gate was there to stop people passing along the road without paying. The proceeds were applied towards the maintenance of this important road. The gate was removed in the 19th century and the high road was widened and straightened in the 1960s, involving the demolition of many buildings, the linking of two separate tube stations and the construction of two tower blocks.

===Portobello Road===
{{main|Portobello Road}}
[[File:Portobello Road, Notting Hill.jpg|thumb|[[Portobello Road]]]]
Portobello Road runs almost the entire length of Notting Hill from north to south. It runs parallel to Ladbroke Grove. It contains [[Portobello Road Market]], one of London's best known markets, containing an [[Antiques|antique]] section and second-hand, fruit and veg and clothing stalls. The road was originally a lane leading to Portobello Farm in the north of Notting Hill.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portobellomarket.org/history.htm |title=The History of Portobello Market |publisher=portobellomarket.org |access-date=18 February 2010 }}</ref>

===Westbourne Grove===
{{main|Westbourne Grove}}
Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill from Kensington Park Road in the west to Queensway in the east, crossing over Portobello Road. It was noted as "fashionable" and "up-and-coming" from the 1990s<ref>''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' article: "West London"; 9–16 August 1997</ref> since then it has attracted many designer label outlets as well as independent and chain retailers.<ref>[http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/ptbello/wg_north.htm Westbourne Grove for Whistles, Joseph, Zadig & Voltaire, Dinny Hall, Heidi Klein] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204210634/http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/ptbello/wg_north.htm |date=4 February 2008 }}, [http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/ Street Sensation], UK.</ref>

The [[Notting Hill Carnival]] passes along the central part of Westbourne Grove.

===Westbourne Green===
{{main|Westbourne Green}}

Westbourne Green is the area in between Westbourne Park Station and Royal Oak Station and is made up of mainly residential roads with Westbourne Park Road running through the entire area to the east of Notting Hill. The Westbourne Green section of Notting Hill comes under Westminster City Council.

The [[Notting Hill Carnival]] also passes through Westbourne Green up Chepstow Road and turns right onto Westbourne Grove.

===Kensal Green===
{{main|Kensal Green}}
Kensal Green is in the north of Notting Hill. It is the area north of the respective iron bridges on [[Ladbroke Grove]] and [[Golborne Road]]. Parts of this area fall under the London Borough of Brent. It has been earmarked for regeneration around the proposed crossrail station next to Sainsbury's.

The area is served by [[Kensal Green station]] (Underground and Overground)

===North Kensington===
{{main|North Kensington}}
[[File:Notting Hill.001 - London.JPG|thumb|[[North Kensington]]]]
North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill. It is where most of the violence of the [[1958 Notting Hill race riots|race riots]] occurred, where the [[Notting Hill Carnival]] started and where most of the scenes in the film, Notting Hill were shot.

The area's main transport hub, [[Ladbroke Grove tube station]], was called Notting Hill from its opening in 1864 until 1919. The name was changed then to avoid confusion with the new [[Notting Hill Gate tube station|Notting Hill Gate station]]. Ladbroke Grove is the area's main thoroughfare.

Estate agents now call the [[High-net-worth individual|super-rich]] area to the south Notting Hill when referring to Notting Hill Gate and [[Holland Park]].

North Kensington was once well known for its slum housing.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} However, North Kensington retains high levels of poverty and unemployment and a high-proportion of social housing for rent. In this area, [[Grenfell Tower fire|Grenfell Tower]] is also found, which burnt down in 2017.

Waves of immigration to the area have occurred for at least a century, including, but certainly not limited to, people of Irish, Jewish, Caribbean, Spanish, and Moroccan extraction. This constant renewal of the population makes the area one of the most cosmopolitan in the world.

==Carnival==
{{main|Notting Hill Carnival}}
[[File:Notting Hill Carnival 2002 large.jpg|thumb|left|[[Notting Hill Carnival]].]]
'''Notting Hill Carnival''' is an annual [[List of Caribbean carnivals around the world|Caribbean carnival]] event in August, over two days (Sunday and the following [[bank holiday]]). It has continuously taken place since 1965.<ref>{{cite web | title=1965 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/blackhistory/years/1965.shtml | author=1Xtra – Black History |publisher=BBC News | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref> It is led by members of the Caribbean population, many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The carnival has attracted up to 1.5{{nbsp}}million people in the past, putting it among the largest street festivals in Europe.

It attracted press attention in 1976 for clashes with the police,<ref>{{Cite news | title=Remembering the Notting Hill riot | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5275542.stm | first=Emma | last=Griffiths | date=25 August 2006 | publisher=BBC News | access-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref> which occurred in 1976 at the conclusion of the Notting Hill Carnival after police arrested a pickpocket and a group of black youths came to his defence. The disturbance escalated and more than 100 police officers were injured.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/30/newsid_2511000/2511059.stm |title= Notting Hill Carnival ends in riot |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 June 2009 |date=30 August 1976}}</ref> Two notable participants in this riot were [[Joe Strummer]] and [[Paul Simonon]], who later formed the seminal London [[Punk rock|punk]] band [[The Clash]]. Their song "[[White Riot]]" was inspired by their participation in this event.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/events/punk/the-clash-release-white-riot/ |title=Seven Ages of Rock – Events – The Clash – "White Riot" |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 June 2009}}</ref> Further incidents continued for a few years, but receded for several decades, until 2008 when approximately 500 youths clashed with police on the Monday.

As the event grew, concerns about the size of the event prompted [[Ken Livingstone]] to set up a Carnival Review Group to look into "formulating guidelines to safeguard the future of the Carnival".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/carnival/index.jsp |title=Notting Hill Carnival Review Group |author=Mayor of London |publisher=london.gov.uk |access-date=17 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090129212132/http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/carnival/index.jsp |archive-date=29 January 2009 }}</ref> An interim report by the review resulted in a change to the route in 2002. When the full report was published in 2004, it was recommended that [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] be used as a "savannah"; though this move has attracted some concern that the Hyde Park event may overshadow the original street carnival.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.iamcolourful.com/news/details/1701/uk/ | title=Caribbean Showcase vs Notting Hill Carnival? | publisher=Colourful | first=Alinah | last=Roberts | date=30 August 2005 | access-date=17 February 2009 | archive-date=27 June 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627234207/http://www.iamcolourful.com/news/details/1701/uk/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2003 Carnival was run by a [[Corporation|limited company]], the Notting Hill Carnival Trust Ltd. A report by the London Development Agency on the 2002 Carnival estimated that the event contributes around £93{{nbsp}}million to the [[Economy of the United Kingdom|London and UK economy]].

==Cultural references==
Notting Hill provides the setting for novels by [[G. K. Chesterton]] (''[[The Napoleon of Notting Hill]]''), Colin MacInnes (''[[Absolute Beginners (novel)|Absolute Beginners]]''), [[Michael Moorcock]] (the Jerry Cornelius quartet), [[R. C. Sherriff]] (''[[The Hopkins Manuscript]]''), and [[Alan Hollinghurst]] (''[[The Line of Beauty]]''). Dan Waddel's ''The Blood Detective'' is a murder novel set in the past and present - featuring Notting Dale. The area's newer, wealthy residents are satirised in [[Rachel Johnson]]'s novel ''Notting Hell'' (2006) set in grand houses surrounding a fictional communal garden. [[Sam Selvon]]'s 1956 novel ''[[The Lonely Londoners]]'' set in Notting Hill portrays the lives of Caribbean immigrants making their way in post-World War II London.

The area is also the setting of the films: ''[[The Knack …and How to Get It]]'' (1965), ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (1970) featuring [[Mick Jagger]], ''[[Lava (2001 film)|Lava]]'' (2001), and ''[[Paddington (film)|Paddington]]'' (2014). Notting Hill serves as the locale for the 1999 romantic comedy ''[[Notting Hill (film)|Notting Hill]]'', starring [[Julia Roberts]] and [[Hugh Grant]].

A film set in the same streets but showing a different story of the area is ''[[Pressure (1976 film)|Pressure]]'' (1976), by [[Horace Ové]], examining the experience of those of Caribbean descent in 1970s Notting Hill including police brutality and discrimination.

[[The Notting Hillbillies]] were a [[country rock]] project formed by [[Dire Straits]] frontman [[Mark Knopfler]] in 1986. They released a single album, ''[[Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time]]'', in 1990.

Notting Hill is often referred to as 'the most Instagrammable district in London' due to the abundance of photogenic restaurants and pastel-coloured houses.<ref name="Instagtam guide to London">{{cite web|title=Instagram guide to London|url=https://tripsget.com/most-instagrammable-places-in-london-instagram-guide|website=Tripsget|access-date=22 May 2019}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
* [[Damon Albarn]]
* [[Elizabeth Clark (author)|Elizabeth Clark]]
* [[Mabel (singer)|Mabel]]
* [[Peter Gabriel]]
* [[Bette Bourne]] (born Peter Bourne) a British actor, drag queen and activist<ref>Ravenhill, Mark (12 January 2010) [https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/bette-bourne-the-queen-of-london-6782405.html "Bette Bourne - the Queen of London"] (interview), ''Evening Standard''. Retrieved 25 October 2018.</ref><ref>Smith, Rupert (5 December 2005). [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/dec/05/theatre1 "'Straight theatre is all fake'"], ''The Guardian'' (Bette Bourne talks about rehearsing for shows in his Notting Hill flat). Retrieved 25 October 2018.</ref>
* [[George Orwell]]
* [[David Cameron]]
* [[Noel Clarke]]
* [[George Osborne]]
* [[Michael Gove]]
* [[Duncan Fallowell]]
* [[Rosalind Franklin]]
* [[John Christie (serial killer)|John Christie]]
* [[Mark White (British musician)|Mark White]]
* [[Tallulah (DJ)|Tallulah]] (DJ) — Originally from [[Hamburg]]
* [[Tom Hollander]]
*[[Roche Lynch]]
* [[Michael Moorcock]]
* [[Philip Sayer]]<ref>Philip Sayer biography:'Philip owned a flat in fashionable Notting Hill, and as Philip had expensive tastes it was a decorated to an almost palatial standard.':http://www.swanseasgrand.co.uk/Philip%20Sayer%201946%20-%201989.html</ref>
* [[Steve Strange]]<ref>BBC:[[Kim Wilde]] quote after Steve Strange's death:'As we left, the press descended on us, we both pouted furiously and headed off to The Blitz Club where we bumped into [[Marilyn (singer)|Marilyn]] and a host of exotic, beautiful [[New Romantics]], drank vodka and crashed out at his apartment in Notting Hill.' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31449838</ref>
* [[Anne Pigalle]] (Originally from [[Paris]])
* [[Alfonso Cuarón]] (Originally from [[Mexico City]])
* [[Will Shu]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 August 2016|title=Deliveroo founder Will Shu drives company towards 'unicorn' status|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/11/deliveroo-investment-company-unicorn-status|access-date=29 June 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

==Transport==
Along with the majority of west and northwest London, Notting Hill is heavily served by the [[London Underground]]. Five lines serve the area, two deep level tubes, the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central]] and [[Bakerloo line]]s, with three sub-surface lines, the [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]], [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle]] and [[District line]]s. Firstly, the Central line crosses the area on an east–west axis, with stations at [[Notting Hill Gate tube station|Notting Hill Gate]], which also provides an interchange with the Circle (main section) and District lines (Edgware road branch), and [[Holland Park tube station|Holland Park]] to the west. The northern half of Notting Hill, comprising various sub districts such as Kensal Green, Ladbroke Grove and [[North Kensington]] is served by the western branch of the Circle line, as it shares tracks with the [[Hammersmith & City line]] west of Paddington. These lines run through Notting Hill predominantly on a viaduct, calling at [[Westbourne Park tube station|Westbourne Park]], [[Ladbroke Grove tube station|Ladbroke Grove]] and [[Latimer Road tube station|Latimer Road]] respectively, before reaching Shepherds Bush to the west. The Bakerloo line skirts the North East corner running from [[Warwick Avenue tube station|Warwick Avenue station]] to [[Paddington tube station (Bakerloo, Circle and District lines)|Paddington]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Google Maps|url=https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Royal+Oak/@51.5180178,-0.1878353,15z/data=!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x48761aa8dd5c66a3:0xea634a2c3c215afa!2sWarwick+Avenue!8m2!3d51.5232546!4d-0.1838447!3m4!1s0x48761000a35e1da9:0x4e3d3c94da9393df!8m2!3d51.5191396!4d-0.1886529!5m1!1e2|access-date=2021-07-29|website=Google Maps|language=en}}</ref>

===Crossrail Station===
At a site just to the east of the Old Oak Common site, [[Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council|Kensington & Chelsea Council]] has been pushing for a station at [[Kensal Green]]<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/newsroom/councilstatements/crossrailstation.aspx |title= The case for Kensal crossrail |publisher= Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |date= n.d. |access-date= 26 June 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110515030212/http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/newsroom/councilstatements/crossrailstation.aspx |archive-date= 15 May 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> off Ladbroke Grove and Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Green, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area.<ref>{{Cite press release |url= http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/pressrelease/pressreleasePage.aspx?id=3387 |title= Case for a Crossrail station gains momentum |date=1 July 2010 |publisher= Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/study-to-explore-adding-crossrail-station-at-kensal-rise/5004540.article |title= Study to explore adding Crossrail station at Kensal Green |date =24 August 2010 |work=Building Design |first= Ruth |last= Bloomfield |location= London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://londonreconnections.blogspot.com/2010/08/crossrail-at-kensal-rise-back-on-cards.html |title=Crossrail at Kensal Rise back on the cards? |publisher=London Reconnections (blog) |date= 27 August 2010}}</ref> Among the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and the then-Mayor [[Boris Johnson]] stated that a station would be added if it did not increase [[Crossrail]]'s overall cost; in response, Kensington & Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33{{nbsp}}million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the Borough.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23935561-council-to-pay-for-crossrail-station.do |title= Council to pay for Crossrail station |work= London Evening Standard |date= 25 March 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120913115649/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23935561-council-to-pay-for-crossrail-station.do |archive-date= 13 September 2012 |access-date= 18 September 2011 }}</ref> In 2011, [[Transport for London]] conducted a feasibility study on the station with the project backed by [[National Grid plc|National Grid]], retailers [[Sainsbury's]] and [[Cath Kidston Limited]], and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).<ref>[http://www.regen.net/Transport/article/1070093/kensal-crossrail-station-transform-area-says-deputy-mayor/ "Kensal Crossrail station would 'transform' the area, says deputy mayor"], Regeneration + Renewal, 16 May 2011.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Paddington]]
* [[West Kensington]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|London/Notting Hill-North Kensington|Notting Hill - North Kensington}}
* {{commonscatinline|Notting Hill}}
* Jennifer Hudson, [https://mic.com/articles/192190/black-history-of-londons-famous-notting-hill-neighborhood#.Ne4sovS7h "The forgotten black history of London's famous Notting Hill neighborhood"], mic.com, 31 October 2018.

{{LB Kensington and Chelsea}}
{{Areas of London}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Notting Hill| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:Places formerly in Middlesex]]
[[Category:District centres of London]]