Pictures of Notting Hill

About Notting Hill

This area of London is known throughout the world as the scene of London's biggest annual street party. Each August Bank Holiday week-end, since the carnival first began in 1964 the streets of Notting Hill have exploded with a riot of colour, cultural music, dancing and feasting. It is such a wonderful event, hard now to believe that it evolved out of the race riots of the mid 20th century. The fact that we have the carnival today is largely due to the efforts of immigrants from Trinidad and other individuals, who sought to bring Notting Hill's diverse community together-and what a resounding success it has been, for during the two days of carnival over two million revellers pour into west London.

Two hundred years ago, this was predominantly an area of farms and wasteland where pigs were bred. It did not begin to flourish as a residential area until around 1840 when more housing developed. However, it was never the brightest of London's residential regions, and later, following World War II immigrants began arriving in Notting Hill. Eventually, it degenerated into one of London's worst slum areas.

People living in Notting Hill soon tired of the "slum" label, and many residents put in hard work and effort to bring about a change in the areas fortunes, this has not been swift but has paid huge dividends for the area is now one of the most fashionable "star studded" districts in London, with property on the market for six figure sums!

It has its quiet tree lined streets and a beautiful park to stroll in. These plus a multitude of shops, theatres, clubs and restaurants and smart hotels make it a truly "trendy" destination. Add to this the conviviality of the famous Portobello Road with its shops, galleries, arcades and more importantly its world famous traditional Saturday antiques market, attended by the public and traders from all over Europe, and you have a recipe for a thrilling weekend! The markets history stretches back over three hundred years, but it is only since the 1950's that it began to enjoy its current prestige, it now ranks in the top ten most widely visited places in London. The market featured in the film "Bed Knobs and Broomsticks" and more recently in the film entitled "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

Two of Notting Hill's outstanding features are the mid 19th century Church dedicated to St.John the Evangelist, this is in the Early English style with a spire that can be seen for miles around, and the Methodist Church of 1897 - this occupies a prominent position and has recently undergone a period of renovation and refurbishment.