Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, London, England, which passes through

Kensal Green Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington, London, North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent ...

and

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the surrounding area including parts of

Kensal Town Kensal Town is a district located partly in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and partly in the City of Westminster. The Grand Union Canal, which passes through it, forms the boundary of the two boroughs. Kensal Town is a sub-distri ...

, Latimer Road,

and Westbourne Park, straddling the W10 and W11 postal districts. Ladbroke Grove tube station is on the road, at the point where it is crossed by the Westway. Ladbroke Grove is the nearest tube station to Portobello Road Market. The adjacent bridge and nearby section of the Westway were regenerated in 2007 in a partnership including Urban Eye,

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

and

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

. It is the main road on the route of the annual

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. The northern end between the Harrow Road and Kensal House is in Kensal Green, the middle section between Barlby Road and the A40 flyover in

North Kensington North Kensington is an area of west and northwest London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green predominately in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly in the London Borough of Brent and City of Westminster. The ...

, and the southern end between Lancaster Road and Holland Park Avenue in Notting Hill.

History

The area and the street are named after

James Weller Ladbroke James Weller Ladbroke (died 16 March 1847) was a nineteenth-century landowner and the principal developer of the Ladbroke Estate, a substantial parcel of land in Notting Hill, London, England. Many streets in Notting Hill still bear the Ladbroke n ...

, who developed the Ladbroke Estate in the 1840s. It was originally a predominantly rural area on the western edges of London. Construction at the southern end by Holland Park Avenue began in the 1830s, but the road was not fully developed to Harrow Road until the 1870s.

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was a British artist and illustrator. Well known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, Augustus Septimus Mayhew and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Fr ...

, the cartoonist who illustrated

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' novels as "Phiz", lived at No. 99 in 1872–80.

Churches

The church of St John the Evangelist was constructed in 1845 on the site of the Hippodrome on the Ladbroke Estate, which had closed four years earlier. The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church of St Michael and All Angels in the road was designed by James Edmeston and built in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

in 1871. The funds were provided by J. E.Gray, the father of the first vicar, the Reverend Edward Ker Gray: the foundation stone was laid on 1 November 1870 by a cousin of the Grays, John Mowbray. The church became fashionable with members of the Royal Family. The

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

played the violin in the church orchestra. The vicarage was built in 1876, with the foundation stone being laid by the Duchess of Teck. The Lady Chapel was opened by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh in 1882. However, in 1886, the Reverend Gray moved to the Curzon Street Chapel and St Michael's became less fashionable. The

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

Church of St Sava is on Lancaster Road, just off Ladbroke Grove. The church building was originally built in 1903 as the Anglican church of St Columba; in 1952 it was re-consecrated as Saint Sava's, to serve a growing community of post-war refugees. It was the venue for the baptism of

Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (; born 17 July 1945), is the head of the Karađorđević dynasty, House of Karađorđević, the former royal house of the defunct Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its predecessor the Kingdom of Serbia. Alexander ...

, son of Peter II, in 1945, and his second marriage in 1985. Princess Maria Tatiana, daughter of Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia, was baptised there in 1957. In 2013, it was the venue for the memorial service of Princess Margarita of Baden. The former church of Christ Church, Telford Road was opened in 1881, and closed in 1940 when the parish merged with St Michaels. The church building was demolished.

Music and culture

Ladbroke Grove was a centre of the British counterculture in the 1960s. The area was

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

ed for development following

1958 Notting Hill race riots The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially motivated riots that took place in Notting Hill, a district of London, between 29 August and 5 September 1958. Background Following the end of the Second World War, and as a result of the l ...

, and consequently found favour with individuals who distrusted authority, moving into unmodernised Victorian properties along the road. The

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

band

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

were formed here in 1969, and eventually bonded and worked with fantasy author

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

who was then a resident. Moorcock's work often contain references to Ladbroke Grove, the location being the headquarters of his fictional characters Jerry Cornelius and Colonel Pyat. The Deviants (formerly the Social Deviants) and

Pink Fairies Pink Fairies are an English proto-punk rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and ot ...

were musical groups out of the Ladbroke Grove

UK underground The British counter-culture or underground scene developed during the mid-1960s, and was linked to the hippie subculture of the United States. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London. It generated its own magazin ...

movement, from which a number of bands would emerge, influenced by anarchistic singer/writer

Mick Farren Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground, who had a significant influence on the development of British proto ...

. Punk group

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

also formed locally in 1976; frontman

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

around Ladbroke Grove before joining the group. The '' Roughler'' magazine emerged in the 1980s and 1990s to chronicle the antics of the more Bohemian residents, including the legendary Portobello Pantos. Ladbroke Grove features as the scene of

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

's 1968 song " Slim Slow Slider" from '' Astral Weeks'', and is mentioned in the 1970s pop hit "One Man Band" by

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

. The Pulp song "I Spy", from the album '' Different Class'', features the line "your Ladbroke Grove looks turn me on". The Blur songs " Fool's Day" and " Lonesome Street" also feature Ladbroke Grove in their lyrics. As does the song "Joel" by The Boo Radleys, with the line, "I've found myself in Ladbroke Grove" from the album '' Wake Up!''.

The Slits The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...

song "Ping Pong Affair" from the album ''

Cut Cut or CUT may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** ...

'', also features Ladbroke Grove in its lyrics. "Beautiful Stranger" by

Laufey Laufey may refer to: Mythology and fictional characters * Laufey (mythology) Laufey or Nál is a figure in Norse mythology and the mother of Loki. The latter is frequently mentioned by the matronymic ''Loki Laufeyjarson'' (Old Norse 'Loki Laufey' ...

mentions Ladbroke Grove in the line "What if I hadn't left the train at Ladbroke Grove." " LDN" by

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...

mentions Ladbroke Grove in an

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

chorus of London placenames.

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

have released an EP (In Excelsis) that features two mixes of a song called "Ghost Of Ladbroke Grove". The UK rapper

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper and record producer from Ladbroke Grove, London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' in a list of "best new acts to c ...

's hit "

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

" is named after the road which he is from; it peaked at number 3 on the UK singles chart. Mahdi made his first music video in Ladbroke Grove. The posthumous music video of the Lil Peep release " 4 Gold Chains" is set at 121 Ladbroke Grove. In 1977, a brief encounter between musicians

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

and

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

on Ladbroke Grove finalised the latter's departure from the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

. From the 2010s to today Ladbroke Grove has been home to some of the most prominent grime and drill artists, such as

and Digga D.

Transport

Rail

Ladbroke Grove tube station is located halfway along the road, and is served by the

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

and Hammersmith & City lines. The Westway, part of a main road from Central London to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

crosses in the same location, though there is no junction. The road also has bridges over the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...

from

London Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

, and the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

Crossrail

At a site just to the east of the Old Oak Common site, Kensington and Chelsea Council has been pushing for a station at Kensal off Ladbroke Grove and Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Green, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area.

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail's overall cost; in response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station. TfL is conducting a feasibility study on the station and the project is backed by National Grid, retailers

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

and

Cath Kidston Catherine Isabel Audrey Kidston (born 6 November 1958) is an English fashion designer, businesswoman and author whose company, Cath Kidston Limited, sold home furnishings and related goods online, through franchises and by mail order. She is p ...

, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly). The plans were resurrected by Johnson in 2016.

Incidents

On 5 October 1999, two trains on the Great Western Main Line near Ladbroke Grove crashed into each other at a combined speed of over , leading to the diesel fuel of one of the trains igniting and setting fire to both. Thirty one people died and over 400 were injured, including severe burns. The cause of the crash was determined to be lack of suitable visibility of signals. The crash, combined with further major incidents at Hatfield and

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882.London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes 7, 23, 52, 70,

228 Year 228 ( CCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Maecius (or, less frequently, year 981 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 228 for this ...

, 295, 316, 452 and N7.

Notable residents

* Tom Brook, Notable BBC News journalist was born in Ladbroke Grove. *

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

, British singer/songwriter grew up in Ladbroke Grove. *

, rapper, best known for his song "Ladbroke Grove", grew up in Ladbroke Grove. * Chrissie Hynde, American musician, lead vocalist with

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

. * Anthony Sampson, journalist and writer, 27 Ladbroke Grove. * Hugh Thomas, historian, 29 Ladbroke Grove. * Hayley Atwell, a British and American actress, most widely known for portraying Agent

Peggy Carter Margaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist ...

. * Digga D, rapper, member of CGM. * Javine Hylton, singer, hailed from Ladbroke Grove. *

, British singer/songwriter lives in Ladbroke Grove. *

Cleo Sol Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic (born 24 March 1990), better known by her stage name Cleo Sol, is an English singer-songwriter. Working closely with her husband, the producer Inflo, Dean Josiah Cover, she has released five solo studio albums beginnin ...

, British singer/songwriter, member of Sault. *

Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor, writer, director and producer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010), he received critical acclaim for writing, directing, and ...

, British actor, writer and director known for his role in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and for writing, directing and starring in the teen crime films '' Kidulthood'', ''

Adulthood An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

'' and '' Brotherhood''. *

Central Cee Oakley Neil Caesar-Su (born 4 June 1998), known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. Regarded as a leading figure in UK rap, he rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of his drill singles "Day i ...

, rapper.

Notes and references

Citations Sources *

Bibliography

British History Online
* Barbara Denny, ''Notting Hill and Holland Park Past'', Historical Publications, 1993. * Derry Moore, ''Notting Hill'', Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2007,

External links

{{Authority control Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Districts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Areas of London Notting Hill