Notting Hill: West London’s most vibrant neighbourhood

How did Notting Hill become a thriving area?

It’s hard to believe that Notting Hill was once immortalised in print for its appalling social issues by authors such as Charles Dickens and George Orwell, whose time at 22 Portobello Road inspired parts of his first memoir ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’. 

But it has bounced back from its ups and downs to become a lively and charming enclave of colourful crescents with swanky restaurants, bohemian boutiques, antique emporiums, the historic Portobello Road market, and the world famous Notting Hill Carnival on its doorstep.

Such is the vitality of this thriving community that it’s been home to creatives like Hugh Grant (of course), designers Bella Freud and Stella McCartney, musicians Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John and artist Banksy.

Why did KFH choose Notting Hill?

Beginning his KFH career in the KFH Bayswater branch followed by a stint in Belsize Park and Holland Park, KFH Notting Hill Sales Branch Director Soroush Prado explains the London estate agent’s move from Holland Park to Notting Hill Gate:

‘Our customer base has shifted and grown in the Notting Hill area, so relocating was a positive response to better serve the growing demand, increase our visibility and attract more customers looking to sell and buy in Notting Hill and its surrounds,’ he says. ‘With a great performance from 2024 and a growing sales team, it was the perfect time to move to our flagship offices, which I’m excited and proud to have opened.’

The branch takes a prime spot just steps away from Notting Hill Gate tube station. ‘We are perfectly positioned on Notting Hill Gate,’ says Soroush. ‘Our portfolio features a wealth of outstanding London properties – from Victorian townhouses and spacious, semi detached Edwardian homes, to imposing new-build and boutique developments.’

How did Notting Hill transform from farmland to prime hotspot?

As mentioned earlier, it wasn’t always so. Originally part of Middlesex, this once rural hamlet was farmland which appeared in 1356 Royal records as ‘Knottynghull’ – thought to originate from a Saxon family named Cnottingas, with the Hill part meaning a settlement or group of people.

The layout of today’s Notting Hill is a blueprint for its fascinating social history. As you stroll down Pottery Lane between Portland Road and Penzance Place, you’re on land that was known as the Potteries and Piggeries in the early 19th century. It was pockmarked by gravel pits, brick kilns and pig farms that gave rise to one of the worst slums in London due to unsanitary conditions, cess pits, disease and crime. It was so bad that Pottery Lane was nicknamed ‘Cut Throat Lane’. The slurry covered area of putrid land called the ‘Ocean’ is now Avondale Park and its surrounding cottages, while the only visible evidence of the area’s past is the last of the brick-making kilns on Walmer Road. 

A few steps from there, Hippodrome Mews was the site of a short lived racetrack called the Hippodrome - doomed to fail due to unwelcome attention from its impoverished neighbours. While up the hill, the stuccoed grand villas, imposing brick terraces and communal private gardens of the Ladbroke Estate survive to this day. Land owner James Weller Ladbroke and architect Thomas Allason built the estate for the upper middle classes from the 1840s right through to the 1860s, right above the swill of the slums below. 

Over time, servants fell out of fashion, the Blitz decimated many streets and houses were divided up into bedsits and flats. The area fell into disrepair until it was designated a Conservation Area in 1969. By the 1980s, wealthy property investors moved in and gentrification began anew, helped in no uncertain terms by the 1999 movie. Today, Notting Hill boasts some of the most coveted properties in the Capital.

What kind of architecture is Notting Hill known for?

From the classical elegance of the Ladbroke Estate’s ‘garden suburb’, right through to architect Ernesto Goldfinger’s Brutalist Trellick Tower on the Golborne Road, the mix of architectural styles in Notting Hill is hugely diverse, impressive and in some spots, famously florid.

Cementing Notting Hill’s status as an architectural pin up, the iconic, pastel painted houses of Lancaster Road, Colville Terrace and Elgin Crescent are an Instagrammer’s multicoloured dream, and the crayon bright houses on Portobello Road even made Architectural Digest’s 2024 list of ‘The 71 most beautiful streets in the world’.

Who lives in Notting hill?

So who is the typical Notting Hill-er? ‘Because we have properties that range from £500,000 flats right up to £50,000,000 Italianate villas, you can imagine, it’s pretty transient,’ says Soroush. ‘We get a really diverse combination of first time buyers, families with kids seeking space and good schools, those looking for a pied a terre and international buyers.’ 

No doubt any buyer would be delighted by the deep sense of community spirit that underpins this sought after locale. It’s rare for such social cohesion to thrive in a place that’s a favourite of tourists, yet locals and strangers happily rub shoulders to share in the enjoyment of this borough’s great bounty. 

Social hot spots

The postcode perks are many, says Soroush. ‘I personally love Portobello Road – the vibrancy of colours, international people and the worldwide food choices.’ Portobello Road on a Saturday is a great place to get your Notting Hill bearings. 

Get there early to sift through the fashions, foodstuff, bric-a-brac and antiques of the stalls and arcades. Browse volumes old and new beyond the famous blue door of the Notting Hill Bookshop, where William Thacker first met Anna Scott. Rummage through the flea market finds of the quieter Golborne Road Market before refuelling with a delicious pastel de nata (Portuguese tart) at the Lisboa Patisserie. Cosy up with a movie and martini in the plush surroundings of the Electric Cinema. Stroll the designer boutiques, ritzy brunch spots, and artisanal delis of the smartly chic Westbourne Grove. And from there, take a five-minute stroll around the corner to The Ledbury – a lively dining room whose Chef Brett Graham champions British ingredients and whose cuisine has earned the in demand eatery a rare three Michelin stars.

‘I can vouch that having worked, lived and played in most areas of West to Central London, there is no other place in the Capital with the same eclectic buzz as Notting Hill,’ enthuses Soroush. ‘It offers a wonderful lifestyle - incredible architecture all around, Royal parks, a wealth of boutiques, shops and bars and unrivalled transport links to the City.’ 

Just three stops from Marble Arch on the Central Line, it’s incredible to think that Notting Hill enjoys Zone 1 status, yet still retains a vibrant village vibe.