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to the south as the northern slope of Notting-hill, while a tongue of superficially lying clay extends
through Holland-park, and, turning eastward, continues as far as the south-western extremity of
Kensington-gardens. Over a large portion of the western border of Kensington is a deposit of brick
earth continuous with that of the existing Hammersmith brickfields. There are also isolated patches
of brick earth elsewhere in Kensington, notably one in the Fulham-road. Throughout the rest of the
parish there is a gravel subsoil.
Roughly speaking, in shape Kensington resembles a top boot with the toe directed towards
Hyde-park, or it may be described as a rectangle with a long axis running from north-west to southeast,
and an added portion at its south-eastern boundary. Two* great roads cross the parish
approximately from east to west, and nearly at right angles to this long axis. The more northerly
of these is the road to Uxbridge, the portions of which within tbe parish of Kensington are known as
High-street, Notting-hill, and as Holland-park-avenue. This road divides Kensington into two parts,
which correspond with the divisions of the parliamentary borough, and are described as North and
South Kensington. The more southerly of the two roads is known as High-street, Kensington, and in
its continuation as Kensington-road. A line drawn approximately parallel to thist and a little to the
south of it, is the dividing line between the two sub-districts of the registration district of Kensington,
viz., Kensington town sub-district and Brompton sub-district.
In attempting to give a brief outline of the growth and development of Kensington, it will be
convenient to bear in mind the manner in which the parish is trisected by the two High-streets, and to
refer to the three sections as the northern, central and southern divisions respectively. Thomas
Faulkner in his "History and Antiquities of Kensington," p. 4, remarks that the parish "is comprised
of three distinct manors which will be hereafter particularly described." Thes9 three manors
may be associated, one with each of the artificial divisions just referred to, though of course it must
not be inferred that there is any correspondence of actual boundaries. The "manor of Earl's-court,"
as Faulkner terms it, or the "manor of Kensington," as it may be called par excellence, for it is the
"Chenesitun" ‡of Domesday, was held by Aubrey de Vere of the Bishop of Coutances. In 1107
"a very large slice of the manor" was granted to the Abbot of Abingdon, the church being included
in the gift, and hence the name St. Mary Abbot's. The original manor house was, says Mr. Loftie
in his history of London, "as the name imports in Earl's-court-road, and we shall probably not
go far wrong if we identify it with the house long occupied by the great John Hunter, and
lately standing near Earl's-court station." This spot is, of course, in the southern division of
Kensington referred to above. The manor house of the manor of Abbot's Kensington, is the
famous Holland House, in the central division of the three already mentioned. The present
structure dates from 1607, when it was built by Sir Walter Cope, and it was much improved
by his son-in-law, Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, who became its possessor. The Hollands, of
the Rich family, and later those of the Fox family, occupied the house until the death of the last lord
in 1859. Macaulay says, "no house ever contained within its walls so many eminent men at the
same time." Its most notable association is with Addison, who married the widow of Edward
Rich, Earl of Warwick and Holland, and lived there from 1716 until his death in 1719. The third
manor house, that of Knotting Barns, stood in the midst of meadows, in what is described above as
the northern division of Kensington. This manor was originally part of the property of the De Veres,
and afterwards underwent many changes of ownership, which are set out in detail by Faulkner.
The population of the whole of Kensington was only 8,556 in 1801; at successive decennial
enumerations the numbers were 10,886, 14,428, 20,902, 26,831, 44,053, 70,108, 120,299, 163,151,
and finally 166,308 in 1891. In 1896 the enumerated population was 170,465. Loftie's map of
"London and the suburbs showing the areas built upon at different dates" indicates that Kensington
was for the most part covered with buildings between 1834 and 1867, but that the houses in its
northern and extreme south-western portions are, generally speaking, of still later date. The map of
Rocque, 1763 (reproduced in Loftie's London), and the map of Kensington in 1820 given by Faulkner,
show the same general features, the main difference being a tendency in the later map to indicate some
extension of building operations around the scattered areas already shown as inhabited in the earlier
one. Faulkner describes the parish in 1820 as including "the villages of Earl's-court, Old and New
Brompton, Kensington Gravel-pits, Kensal-green and Little Chelsea. About 400 acres of land (i.e.,
about one-fifth of the entire parish), were occupied by farmers and market gardeners, and about 124
acres as "nursery grounds." In addition to this there was the "grass land."
Beginning with the southern division of Kensington, that portion south of Kensington-road, it
may be noted that the chief groups of houses shown in Rocque's map are those at Little Chelsea on
the Fulham-road; at Brompton-row, near the south-eastern extremity of the parish; at Old Brompton
and at Earl's-court; and finally the houses at the northern border of this division adjoining the main
Kensington-road (i.e., the High-street), which formed part of Kensington proper, or of "The Old Court
Suburb," as Leigh Hunt called it. Faulkner's map shows "Brompton-park," a noted "nursery
garden" mentioned in the Spectator, and which may be cited as an example of one of those institutions
for which "Brompton, with its two centuries of nursery garden fame," was celebrated. It also shows
Hale House, supposed on insufficient evidence, it would appear, to have been the residence of Oliver
Cromwell; through what were once the grounds of this house now runs Cromwell-road. The present
*In addition to the two roads to be referred to it may be noted that the old Brompton-road also runs
nearly east and west, and the Fulham-road, which has approximately the same direction, forms the southern
boundary of the parish.
†The precise course of this line is defined as follows—"extending from west to east, along Pembroke-road.
Stratford-road and south of the workhouse, then through Cornwall-gardens to Queen's-gate-place, and thence
northwards so as to include Queen's-gate, Jay's-mews and Kensington-gore."
‡Hence the name Kensington has been, as Leigh Hunt says, "thought traceable to some landed proprietor
of the name of Chencsi." Loftie agrees in discarding the supposition that Kensing was a corruption of Cyuirg.
and that Kensington means King's Town. Ee says, "there are Kensings in other places, which afford a better
derivation than can be made from Cyning."