Survey of London: Volume 42, Kensington Square To Earl's Court

This volume completes the Survey's study of Kensington. It describes the expansion of building development south and west towards Earl's Court from the original late-17th-century 'Old Court Suburb' around Kensington Square and Kensington High Street. The area has a great variety of house-types and architectural styles: surviving 1680s houses in Kensington Square; brick-and-stucco Regency terraces in and around Edwardes Square; George & Peto's large and flamboyant Flemish-inspired brick-and-terracotta family homes in Harrington and Collingham Gardens; and later mansion flats. In addition to the residential architecture, the volume also traces the history of the commercial and light-industrial quarter to the west, near the Kensington Canal and West London Railway; the fashionable shopping area on the south side of the High Street, with its well-known department stores, such as Barkers and Derry & Toms; and a rich collection of churches and chapels. The volume ends with a retrospective chapter, considering some of the themes and building trends common to Southern Kensington as a whole.

Survey of London. Originally published by London County Council, London, 1986.

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Table of Contents

Title Page(s)
Preface v-vi
Acknowledgments vii-viii
List of plates xi-xix
List of figures xx-xxiv
Plan pocket
The Old Court suburb 1-4
Kensington Square and environs: Introduction 5-11
Kensington Square and environs: Individual houses (east side) 11-16
Kensington Square and environs: Individual houses (south side) 16-29
Kensington Square and environs: Individual houses (west side and Derry Street) 29-40
Kensington Square and environs: Individual houses (north side) 40-46
Kensington Square and environs: Young Street, Thackeray Street and South End 46-54
Colby Court, Kensington House and Kensington Court 55-76
Kensington High Street, south side: Kensington Court to Wright's Lane 77-98
Kensington High Street, south side: Wright's Lane to Earl's Court Road 99-116
Prince of Wales Terrace 117-120
De Vere Gardens area 121-129
Kensington New Town 130-150
Cornwall Gardens 151-157
Hereford Square area: The Day estate 158-167
The Alexander estate 168-183
The work of Ernest George and Peto in Harrington and Collingham Gardens 184-195
The Gunter estate 196-214
Earl's Court Village and Earl's Court Gardens area 215-224
The Abingdon Villas and Scarsdale Villas area 225-238
The Edwardes estate: Introduction 239-248
The Edwardes estate: Edwardes Square area 249-263
The Edwardes estate: Warwick Gardens and Kensington Crescent 263-268
The Edwardes estate: Pembroke Square, Pembroke Gardens and Pembroke Road area 268-282
The Edwardes estate: Warwick Road (north) and West Cromwell Road 282-288
The Edwardes estate: East of Earl's Court Road 289-299
The Edwardes estate: South of West Cromwell Road 300-321
The Kensington Canal, railways and related developments 322-338
Emperor's Gate and Vicinity 339-342
St. Mary Abbots Hospital 343-364
Churches and chapels: Introduction 365-368
Churches and chapels: Church of England 368-386
Churches and chapels: Non-Anglican denominations 386-394
Southern Kensington in retrospect 395-413
Abbreviations used 414
References 414-459
Index: A - K 461-484
Index: L - Z 484-502
Frontispiece ii
Plate 1: Kensington in c.1754 1
Plate 2: Maps of Kensington High Street and Kensington Square district 2
Plate 3: Kensington High Street, aerial view looking south, 1922. 3
Plate 4: Kensington Square, exteriors. 4
Plate 5: Kensington Square, exteriors. 5
Plate 6: Kensington Square, exteriors. 6
Plate 7: Kensington Square, exteriors 7
Plate 8: Kensington Square, exteriors 8
Plate 9: Convent of the Assumption, Kensington Square 9
Plate 10: Nos. 11 and 12 Kensington Square 10
Plate 11: Nos. 11 and 12 Kensington Square, interiors in 1953. 11
Plate 12: No. 17 Kensington Square, interior in 1953. 12
Plate 13: No. 29 Kensington Square 13
Plate 14: No. 36 Kensington Square, interior in 1979. 14
Plate 15: No. 33 Kensington Square 15
Plate 16: No. 19 Kensington Square 16
Plate 17: No. 35 Kensington Square, interior in 1979. 17
Plate 18: Kensington Square, staircases 18
Plate 19: Kensington Square 19
Plate 20: Young Street 20
Plate 21: Young Street in 1944. 21
Plate 22 22
Plate 23: South End 23
Plate 24: Kensington House and Colby House 24
Plate 25: Kensington House in c. 1878. 25
Plate 26: Kensington Court, engravings 26
Plate 27: Kensington Court 27
Plate 28: Kensington Court 28
Plate 29 29
Plate 30: Kensington High Street 30
Plate 31: Kensington High Street 31
Plate 32: Kensington High Street between Young Street and Derry Street in c. 1865. 32
Plate 33: Kensington High Street 33
Plate 34: Kensington High Street 34
Plate 35: Kensington High Street 35
Plate 36: Kensington High Street, shops. 36
Plate 37: Derry and Toms' store 37
Plate 38: Barkers' and Derry and Toms' stores 38
Plate 39: Barkers' and Derry and Toms' stores, details in 1985. 39
Plate 40: The Terrace. 40
Plate 41: Scarsdale House. 41
Plate 42 42
Plate 43 43
Plate 44 44
Plate 45: South of Kensington High Street in 1983. 45
Plate 46: Prince of Wales Terrace 46
Plate 47 47
Plate 48 48
Plate 49: De Vere Mews and De Vere Cottages. 49
Plate 50: Inderwick Estate 50
Plate 51: Victoria Grove. 51
Plate 52: Launceston Place 52
Plate 53 53
Plate 54: Vallotton estate. 54
Plate 55: Vallotton estate and district in c. 1905 55
Plate 56: Vallotton estate. 56