Kensington & Chelsea
Kensington & Chelsea is London’s smallest borough by area. But it packs a big punch with tourist draws like Portobello Road and a number of museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum.
It includes some of London’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, such as Chelsea and Knightsbridge. But 2017’s catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington is a reminder of the borough’s high inequality.
Among the notable figures to have called Kensington & Chelsea home are poet and playwright Oscar Wilde and novelist Agatha Christie. Royals including Princess Margaret and Princess Diana have lived in Kensington Palace.
Up the road from there each August bank holiday, the streets come alive with Notting Hill Carnival. Beginning in 1966 as a celebration of the area’s Caribbean heritage and culture, it has evolved into one of the biggest street parties in Europe and draws millions of visitors each year.
Portobello Road in the Notting Hill area of Kensington & Chelsea
Blogs-And-Stories
How Mary Quant revolutionised 1960s fashion
This champion of super short hemlines influenced how a generation dressed
Inside the Big Biba department store
Open for just two years, the 1970s flagship shop for this fashion label was a shopper’s paradise
Princess Diana: A London look
The 'people’s princess' was a 20th-century celebrity whose image was tightly linked to her hometown
What were London’s pleasure gardens?
For dancing, drinking, glamour and debauchery, there was nothing quite like the pleasure garden
Skating through the history of London’s ice rinks
Did you know ice rinks were invented in London? And the earliest version was made from pig fat?
Dub reggae in London
What is dub? And what makes dub reggae an intrinsic part of London’s soundscape
Pleasure gardens: London’s early restaurants?
London’s thriving restaurant scene has roots in these hedonistic spaces of music and entertainment
Through the lens of Charlie Phillips
One of the most talented, but long overlooked, photographers of 20th-century Britain
Lost rivers: The Westbourne
Until the 1800s, the Westbourne flowed through the countryside and could safely quench your thirst
Notting Hill Carnival: Memories, roots and rhythms
Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, Wendy Shearer shares her memories of the Notting Hill Carnival
Albertopolis: Prince Albert’s London legacy
South Kensington looks a little different today thanks to Albert’s enthusiasm for education and art
Harrods: A location for luxury
From humble beginnings to one of the biggest emporiums in Europe
Pleasure gardens: London’s first music venues
Handel at Vauxhall? Mozart at Ranelagh? For 18th-century music fans, these were the places to be
Roger Mayne’s photographs of post-war London
A window into life in the capital from the 1950s
Sex Pistols: London’s resident punk rebels
The punk pioneers who defined a generation
Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McLaren: King’s Road royalty
Their boutique at 430 King’s Road brought creativity – and controversy – to 1970s fashion
The Grenfell Tower fire
This 2017 blaze killed 72 people – a preventable tragedy which triggered calls for justice
Masquerades in London’s pleasure gardens
Put on your finest costume and join revellers on London’s fashionable 18th-century dancefloors
