Distance: less than 2 miles and on the flat
Start: High Str Kensington tube
End: Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens
If you look in an A-Z for London you will see that there 17 High streets and 20 High Roads which seems to suggest that London once was a number of villages . lots of villages. Westminster is only about 1000 yrs old and has really grown over the last 150 years.Kensington started in the 1600s and so was a modern village. It has a Parish church and also a village square. There are c. 300 shops along Kensington High Street.
Turn right out of Kensington High Street tube along the High Street and take a right down Derry Street. You will walk past the entrance of Kensington Roof Gardens which is owned by Richard Branson. The building was once Derry and Toms department store built in 1936 and is in the late art deco style. The roof gardens were once part of the dept store. The roof garden comprises three themed gardens covering over 1.5 acres including fully grown oaks and fruit trees, growing in just 1.5m of soil, and a flowing stream stocked with fish and wildlife.
Spanish Garden: Based on the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, this garden has a distinct Moorish flavour.
Tudor Garden: filled with evergreen shrubs surrounded by fragrant lilies, roses and lavender in the summer months. Wisteria fills the air with its delicate fragrance.
English Woodland: This is undoubtedly at its best in the spring months, when thousands of narcissus, crocus, muscari and anemones burst into life. Here you will also find Bill, Ben, Splosh and Pecks -their four resident flamingos. There are also some resident ducks which all have clipped wings.
Continue walking down Derry Street till you reach Kensington Square.
Take your time and walk round the square. The square includes the former home of the composer Hubert Parry at number 17; the former home of the nineteenth century liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill at number 18; the former home of John Simon (1816-1904) the sanitary reformer and pathologist at number 40. John Simon was a Parliamentarian and worked on the first enclosed sewers for London.You will notice the beautiful bevelled iron work on the balcony at number 40. This was to accommodate the gowns of the lady of the house. You may ask why the balconies are so shallow especially if a ladies skirt was so wide. The deeper your balcony the more tax you paid. John Simon's neighbour was Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones at number 41. You'll also see a plaque commemorating Mrs Patrick Campbell George Bernard Shaw's favourite actress whom he had written the play Pygmalion for. He also willed the play now known as My Fair Lady to RADA.
Between 1831 and 1896 the Kensington School was based in the square, starting at number 31 and eventually occupying number 25-29. The school is notable as one of the founders of the Football Association in 1863. The school built classrooms and fives courts in the gardens of the houses; all that remains is number 27a, the cottage behind number 28.
Once you have walked round find Thackery Street (diagonally opposite where you entered the square). Walk down Thackery Str right onto Kensington Court Place. You will see the blue plaque on Kensington Court Gardens stating that TS Elliot1888-1965 lived and died there. TS Eliot worked at Faber and Faber on Russell Square as Publisher and Editor. George Orwell's first book, Down and Out in Paris and London, was rejected by several publishers, including T. S. Eliot of Faber and Faber, before it was reluctantly accepted by Victor Gollancz and released under the pen name of George Orwell in January 1933. As a result, Orwell continued to use this pseudonym for the remainder of his life and literary career, never legally changing his given name.
Back onto Thackery Str laid out in 1901. Riders and Squires provides the London polo team with its kit. The Mansion blocks above the shops were housed by men about town. Your carriage was as much about your status as a sports car does today. Laundry would be done at the Pump house next to Mews.
Back onto Thackery Str laid out in 1901. Riders and Squires provides the London polo team with its kit. The Mansion blocks above the shops were housed by men about town. Your carriage was as much about your status as a sports car does today. Laundry would be done at the Pump house next to Mews.
Continue walking down Thackery Street staying on the left and you'll come to a white building with a blue plaque with the name of Joan Sims. Joan Sims 1930-2001 lived here for 6 months with a man who was not her husband. Joan was in 22 Carry On films, the 2nd highest score, Kenneth Williams was in 24 Carry One movies. Joan Sims never married.
Take a right at Kensington Square and walk past Grey Hound pub and Thackery's house is on the left. Now home to Richmond (virginity) University most famous book Vanity Fair.
When I was lookin at the building Twiggy drove past in her Blue Mercedes 4x4. In Thackeray's day, Christmas Books were as much a feature of the holiday season as Christmas presents. In one of her charming introductions, Anne Isabella Ritchie, the eldest daughter of Thackeray, wrote, “My father’s gold pen lasted for some six years, and produced the later Christmas books. The earlier books were drawn with pencil and etching needle, and with fine point and brush while written under the thin disguise of Mr. Michael Angelo Titmarsh. They reach over eight years from 1847 to 1855.” Mrs. Perkins's Ball was the first, and was well received. There was, however, nothing about Christmas in any of these books, nor even any allusion to the merry season, excepting the Epilogue to Dr. Birch and His Young Friends, Thackeray's Christmas book of 1849. You can download Christmas stories for free via kindle or iTunes but they are sadly out of print. Thackery and Dickens fell out as friends and were both members of the Atheneum Club in Pall Mall.
Out of the worlds top 30 newspapers Britain contributes to 5 of them. Associated Newspapers is housed in John Barkers department store.
Cross Kensington High Street and walk through the cloisters of St Mary Abbot church. St Mary Abbot church is fake Gothic. It has the highest free-standing spire at 278ft. In 1944 the church suffered a direct hit and was finally restored in 1961. Sir George Gilbert Scott designed the church and also the Albert Memorial opposite the Royal Albert Hall. His grandson designed the iconic red telephone box and also Waterloo bridge.
The church has ancient lights status which means Gods daylight is required to light the building. You will also see a formerly blue coat school (charity for children of poor). David Cameron children went to this school.Walk through the graveyard. Through graveyard to painted wall and to village shops on Kensington Church Walk.
Take a right at the end of the road onto Holland Street, walk past The Old House, home to Pre-Raphaelite Walter Crane. This house also had fire insurance hence the plaque. Norwich union plaque very ornate to prevent people from copying them.
Continue to the end of the road and cross the pedestrian crossing and straight down York House Place and to Kensington Palace.
There are on 1,000 remaining gas lamps in London. Last lamp lighter retired in 1980s and the lamps are now operated centrally. St James park is good place to see gas lamps, lit all the way across the bridge over the man made lake.
King William of Orange (William III) was first monarch to live in the Palace. Sir Christopher Wren built the palace. The King fell off the horse and he dies 10 days later of pneumonia. A statue of William III is behind the gates.
Walk round the palace to see the front facing Kensington Gardens. The Palace is currently under refurbishment should be re-opened in March 2012. If you continue along the path you will get to Queensway tube station which is on the Central line.
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| Kensington Gardens |
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