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Ladbroke Grove

Located in the Notting Hill district, Ladbroke Grove has become a trendy area of west London, (especially since the film of the same name). Within recent years the area has been re-gentrified with an ever increasing number of bars, clubs & coffee shops serving the needs of its politician, actor, artist and musician residents. This has resulted with the mega rich celebrities & professionals residing in the southern part around the Bayswater Road (affectionately becoming known as ‘Hillgate Village’), and high density social housing estates to the north.
The ‘hill’ refers to steep slope in Ladbroke Grove and the ‘gate’ after a tollgate where until the 19th century travelers paid a local tax to enter a section of road (rather like today’s Toll Roads).
Although Notting Hill experienced race riots during the late 1950s, following harassment towards the Caribbean immigrants from the local teddy boys, today this is one of London’s most harmonious and multicultural districts.

The nearby Bayswater Road was built by the Romans as a marching road to link London to Silchester.
Until the mid 18th century the surrounding area was a country hamlet, known for its gravel pits and roadside inns, which became a magnet for highwaymen.
During the 19th century as the fashionable residents of London began to move westwards, the area was developed by the Ladbrokes, with stucco fronted pillar porch houses around the edge of communal garden squares, which attracted the upper middle classes who wanted to live in the Belgravia style but at a fraction of the cost. As these wealthy residents later began to move on to newer fashionable districts of west London, these grand houses became multi-occupied dwellings – with greedy landlords renting out rooms by the week, and by the postwar period became notorious for cheap lodgings that attracted foreign immigrants. However, times have now changed and has become home to young professionals attracted by its central London location, excellent transport links, closeness of Holland Park & Kensington Gardens and leisure activities.
Nearby Portobello Road, named after Puerto Bello – a port in the Gulf of Mexico, was once a quiet country track that connected the Kensington Gravel Pits with Kensal Green. Today, its Market is famous for its clothes stalls, offering cheap new clothes, second hand clobber and designer outfits.