West Kensington, London

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= West Kensington
latitude= 51.4907
longitude= -0.2065
os_grid_reference= TQ246783
london_borough= Hammersmith and Fulham
constituency_westminster= Hammersmith and Fulham
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area= W
postcode_district= W14
dial_code= 020

West Kensington is an area of west London primarily located within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, encompassing some western areas of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located 3.6 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. West Kensington, the London postal area of W14 is roughly defined as the area between Brook Green & Hammersmith Road to the west, Fulham to the south, Shepherd's Bush to the north and Kensington to the east.

It is best known as home to the Olympia Exhibition Centre and the Queen's Club sports complex.

Location in Context

Residential

West Kensington is primarily a residential area consisting mainly of Victorian terraced houses, many of which are subdivided into flats. There are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, with several houses and some entire streets listed - including the imposing mansion blocks of Fitzgeorge Avenue (off North End Road) and the mansion blocks around Avonmore Road including, Glyn Mansions (Built 1897), Avonmore Mansions, Avonmore Gardens (Built 1893) which is located next to Kensington Village. There are also a number of ex-local and local authority buildings around the North End Road, including the recently renovated Lytton Estate. Many of these buildings have been sold off to first-time buyers and young professionals. A more recent private development, St Paul's Court, was built in 1980 on the former site of St Paul's School.

Businesses & Schools

Business is mostly limited to small shops, offices and restaurants, but the Olympia Exhibition Centre is nearby. There are also several pubs and hotels. Carnival Store is a famous fancy dress and costume shop located in the same premises and family owned for the past 40 years. A Tesco supermarket is located nearby in West Cromwell Road, providing jobs perhaps but undoubtedly having negative impacts for the many local, independently owned shops. Indeed, it is the mix of local shops that give the place its character. There is also easy access to High Street Kensington. The area has a branch of Barclays Bank and Avonmore Road has become home to Kensington Village, a new development of high-specification office buildings. West Kensington is also home to the St James Independent School for Junior Boys and Girls and St James Independent School for Senior Girls.

Transportation

West Kensington is remarkably well serviced by public transport, owing to its central location between Fulham, Hammersmith and Kensington.
* Tube: Four separate Tube lines are within a 5 to 15 minute walk of West Kensington - District Line from West Kensington Station, Piccadilly Line from Barons Court/Earl's Court, Circle and District Line from High Street Kensington and Hammersmith and City Line from Hammersmith tube station.
* Overground: The London Overground is available from Kensington (Olympia) station.
* Bus: Several Bus routes are available in the area including the 28. Along Hammersmith Road, there are numerous buses linking the area to Paddington, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Notting Hill, Oxford Street, Aldwych, King's Cross and Trafalgar Square. The N9 bus also runs from Olympia to Heathrow via Isleworth and West Middlesex Hospital.
* Road: West Kensington is also conveniently located close to the A4 (West Cromwell Road) with links to the West and Heathrow and High Street Kensington with links to the Central London/West End.

Nearest Tube Stations

* West Kensington tube station
* Barons Court tube station
* Kensington Olympia station
* Earl's Court tube station - Warwick Road Entrance
* High Street Kensington tube station
* Hammersmith tube station

Nearest Locations & Places of Interest

* Queen's Club - home to The Queen's Club Championships
* Olympia, London Exhibition Centre
* Sotheby's central London sales room is located at the Olympia, London
* Blythe House Archive & Library Reading Room (Victoria & Albert Museum)
* North End Road Market
* Earls Court Exhibition Centre
* Kensington High Street
* Holland Park
* Fulham Broadway
* Hammersmith Broadway

Famous residents

* Peg Entwistle; noted Broadway actress whose 1932 suicide from atop the Hollywood sign forever tagged her as "The Hollywood Sign Girl" had her earliest childhood at 53 Comeragh Road in West Kensington. [ [http://www.thehollywoodsigngirl.com/index.html] The Hollywood Sign Girl]
* Mahatma Gandhi lived in West Kensington for a year while a student.
* Edward Elgar lived for some years in 51 Avonmore Road [ [http://www.elgar.org/2houses.htm The Elgar Trail] ] .
* Tom Felton was born here
* James MacLaren designed 22 and 22A Avonmore Road for sculptor HR Pinkes [ [http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Images/Olympia%20&%20Avonmore_tcm21-56755.pdf Olympia and Avonmore Character profile, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham] ] .
* Estelle the West London rapper was born and raised in West Kensington; her song "1980" was written about her experiences growing up in the area.
* Henry Rider Haggard lived for several years in Gunterstone Road, West Kensington, and wrote "King Solomon's Mines" and "She (novel)" while living there.
* Marcus Garvey, Pan Africanist, founder of the Black Star Line shipping company and the UNIA, lived and died in West Kensington.
*Sir Edward Burne-Jones, acclaimed Victorian architect, resided at the Grange, North End Crescent in West Ken [ [http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/art/architecture/homes/homes1.html Melbury Road, Leighton House, and the Holland Park Artists' Houses] ] .
*Sir Stirling Moss, Formula 1 Champion was born in West Kensington - Sep 17th 1929.
*William Butler Yeats lived in Edith Villas with his family in 1867 [ [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/f/foster-yeats.html New York Times WB Yeats "A Life"] ] .
*James Hunt Formula 1 Champion lived in Normand Mews between 1980 and 1982 [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2007/06/14/lpcolour114.xml Telegraph Article "Colourful Past" Nos 7&8 Normand Mews] ] .
*Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman 's Long Way Down office was based on Avonmore Road, West Ken [ [http://kimbofo.typepad.com/journal/ The Long Way Down Office] ] .
*Konnie Huq owns property in the area [ [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/live/live.html?in_article_id=504035 Konnie Huq Article - Daily Mail] ] .
*Billionaire David Reuben has lived at the same West Kensington house for the past 20 years. [ [http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=432472&in_page_id=2&ct=5 Britain's Billionaires] ] .

Sociology & Rejuvenation

West Kensington straddles the border between the boroughs of Fulham/Hammersmith and Kensington/Chelsea. Although it is true that West Kensington has not experienced the same level of investment and rejuvenation as its neighbours Earl’s Court and Fulham, new building and renovation work is ongoing. West Kensington also has a major advantage in its location. An influx of spill-over wealth from Kensington (W8) means that the area has already experienced change including the opening of more speciality shops, eateries and gastropubs.

People generally opt for West Kensington over neighbouring areas due to the lower comparative property prices and relative grandeur of the properties. [ [http://www.propertyinvesting.net/cgi-script/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=specialreports.db114&command=viewonex PropertyInvesting.net UK Property Hotspots in 2007] ] [ [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23431441-details/Property+slump+House+prices+in+London+just+keep+going+up/article.do Evening Standard Article - Property slump? House prices in London just keep going up] ] [ [http://www.information-britain.co.uk/towndetail.cfm?id=2077 Information Britain] ] [ [http://www.ippr.org/articles/index.asp?id=2753 Institute for Public Policy Research Article - "Diversity Works"] ]

Trivia

Heather Graham and Mia Kirshner play upper-middle-class dilettantes from West Kensington in the 2008 movie Buy Borrow Steal [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/01/13/sv_brendangus.xml Daily Brendan Gunn - Dialogue Coach Article] ] .

The "Famous Three Kings" pub was the venue of Joy Division’s last London gig [ [http://kudocities.com/cities/london/conversations/what-are-your-landmarks-of-rock Landmarks of Rock] ] .

In the movie Trainspotting, the flat that Renton shows the young couple around when he gets the job as an estate agent and ultimately stashes Begbie and Sickboy in is 78A Talgarth Road at North End Road, opposite West Ken tube station.

W14 has become the first London postcode to not have a post office - however talks are in place for a branch to open within the Barons Court library.

References

External Links

* [http://www.queensclub.co.uk] — The Queen's Club Official Website
* [http://www.artoischampionships.com/1/home/default.asp] — The Artois Championships Official Website