Considered one of London’s more fashionable and cosmopolitan areas, Notting Hill is known for its popular Portobello Road antiques market, annual Caribbean inspired Carnival, and as the setting of the successful 1999 film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. The area, however, has a varied past ranging from a fashionable suburb during the 19th century to one of London’s least desirable areas during the 1950s. When the area was first developed in the early 1800s, the main inhabitants of Notting Hill were pottery makers and pig farmers, but by the end of the century, the area was developed with garden squares and elegant Victorian townhomes. Following World War II, most of the large homes in the area were divided-up into multiple dwellings, and the area became increasingly less desirable emphasized by notoriously greedy landlord Peter Rachman, the presence of serial killer John Christie, and the 1958 race riots. By the 1980s, however, Notting Hill began to return to the stylish area it was meant to be. For fans of the Notting Hill film, the site of William Thacker’s flat with the famous blue door can be found at 280 Westbourne Park Road while the site of Thacker’s fictional travel bookshop was located at 142 Portobello Road.
- Notting Hill
- http://www.british-history.ac.uk
- Underground: Notting Hill Gate