Kensington High Street starts with the Kensington Palace entrance and heads west towards the borough boundary. It was among the top shopping areas in London. However, over centuries the street also managed to assume a unique leisureliness and humanity upon its lavish view.

Between the 1690s and 1840s, a series of distinctive-looking dwellings emerged on the southern side of the main road, now 129-163 Kensington High Street. Built by Richard Beckington, all of them came with extensive garden space for recreation. These houses were also among the first ones with the term ‘the Terrace’ applied.

Figure 1

Nevertheless, the landscape was quickly altered in half a century when one of the homeowners, Jubal Webb, a cheesemonger, managed to replace the houses with street shops in the 1890s. The former residential area hence took on a modern appearance.

Figure 2

This block was only a microcosm of the whole street. Around the same time of its redevelopment, across the Wrights Lane to its east, the birth and growth of huge department stores were about to be witnessed. Barker’s started its legend in 1870, expanded dramatically in the following decades with the purchases of its neighbours, Ponting Brother’s in 1907 and Derry and Tom’s in 1920. The expansion served the epitome of the radical transformation of Kensington High Street.

Figure 3

Another fashion store Biba shouldn’t be ignored either. Primarily depending its business on mail orders, Biba struggled to promote its style by means of television and distinctive advertisements. It expanded gradually, first opening a second store in 1965, then in 1969 moving to Kensington High Street. Another heap was taken from boutique to department in 1973 when it purchased the former Derry and Tom’s building. However, a dreadful management led to its closure two years later. Short-lasting as it seemed, Biba is still particularly worth mentioning today in that it mirrors the story of Kensington in a period when Chelsea was regarded as the fashion centre.

Figure 4

Nonetheless, having undergone such rapid urban alterations though, Kensington High Street still succeeded in maintaining an entertaining yet restful atmosphere.  A roof garden covering 6,000 square metres was built on top of the Derry and Tom’s in 1938. On the opposite side of the street stood the St Mary Abbots Church, which sustained a demolition in 1869.

Figure 5

Figure 6

Located approximately 200 metres to the west down the Kensington street was the Kensington Central Library, formerly as the abbey of a local stockbroker, William Abbott. From 1879 it had been a cosy home with medieval styled interior decoration until being severely damaged during the Second World War. The council took over the abandoned and overgrown land in 1959 and turned the ruins into a new library, aimed to serve the local community.

Figure 7

Figure 8

Furthermore, in front of the Holland Park, the Commonwealth Institute, whose site now belongs to the Design Museum, was established in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria. Introduced as ‘the supermarket of resources and activities’, the institute’s main purpose was to provide a broader comprehension of the council and its people.

Figure 9

 Figure 10

To summarise with, the Kensington High Street has been reconstructed over the last few centuries, but successfully balanced its characters as both a commercial centre and a venerable and amiable block. Based far from the major tourist spots and overcrowded areas and taken good care of, it is now able to display narratives of the vicinity over time via its well-conserved natural and historical sites and material collections.

Picture:

1. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/tag/the-terrace/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018). 
2. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/tag/the-terrace/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
3. Author unknown. (1955) Barker’s. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/shopping-in-the-50s-the-kensington-high-street-experience/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
4. Author unknown. (n.d.). Big Biba [image] Available at: http://www.jannaludlow.co.uk/Biba/Artwork.html (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
5. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/the-adventures-of-jerry-cornelius-at-derry-and-toms-famous-roof-gardens/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
6. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/st-mary-abbotts-kensingtons-parish-church/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
7. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/forgotten-buildings-the-abbey/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
8. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/forgotten-buildings-the-abbey/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
9. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/what-is-the-commonwealth-institute/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).
10. Author unknown. (n.d.). title unknown. [image] Available at: https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/what-is-the-commonwealth-institute/ (Downloaded: 11 November 2018).