Stratford Village, an oasis of calm in the heart of Kensington
A village has existed in Kensington from mediaeval times and while Kensington itself wouldn’t really be classed as a village these days, the small area to the south of Kensington High Street, around Stratford Road is still known locally as Kensington or Stratford Village and retains a distinct air of a quiet residential community, yet within a tiny distance of the hustle and bustle of High Street Ken.
This little enclave with its beautiful Georgian and Victorian terraced houses, falls within the Edwardes Square, Scarsdale and Abingdon Conservation Area, which was first designated in January 1970.
It is bordered by Earls Court Road to the west, Wrights Lane and Marloes Road to the east, Stratford Road to the south and Kensington High Street to the north. Stratford Village streets in the area include Scarsdale Villas, Abingdon Villas, Abingdon Road, Allen Street, Stratford Road, Adam & Eve Mews, Pater Street and Cope Place (named after Sir Walter Cope, a former owner of the Abbots Kensington Manor in the 16C).
Like so much of London, Kensington was developed in the mid to late 1800s on what was previously an area of market gardens and nurseries. The manor of Kensington, formerly in the county of Middlesex, was one of several hundred manors granted by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Montbray (or Mowbray), who in turn granted the tenancy of Kensington to his follower, Aubrey de Vere I.
The de Veres were later granted Abingdon Abbey in Oxfordshire and became Earls of Oxford, resulting in their principal manor at Kensington becoming known as Earl's Court, while their residential or sub-manor in Kensington became Abbot's Kensington and the church, St Mary Abbots. The area changed hands several times during the Middle Ages, and remained fields (known as Wattsfield) until the 19C when residential development began in earnest, principally by two familes – the Nokes and the Rhodes.
Abingdon Road, named after the parish connection with the Abbey of Abingdon, was first built as Newland Street in 1817, running south from Kensington High Street, but most of the residential construction in the area happened in the latter half of the 19C, largely by a local family called Nokes, originally from Essex.
In August 1850, William Nokes negotiated to buy Wattsfield. William had two sons, one of whom, the young George Nokes, a timber merchant, became one of the main developers of the area, with, to a lesser extent, his brother James also a timber merchant. They used locally-made bricks (George called himself builder, brickmaker or “gentleman”) and the three men all lived at Abingdon House throughout the 1850s.
Most of the late Georgian buildings of the Abingdon Road and Abingdon Villas houses from that era have a specific architectural feature in common - an elaborate first-floor window dressing, sometimes incorporating a pediment and sometimes enriched with a mask-keystone to the architrave.
In the 1890s, artists and advertisers were very much at the heart of Stratford Village with Scarsdale Studios being largely occupied by artists and other creative types.
Development continued in the area in the early 1900s, and Abingdon Gardens has some beautiful examples of Arts-and-Crafts design influences. The flats here in the highly sought-after Abingdon and Ilchester Mansions are spacious, with two or three reception rooms and three to five bedrooms.
At that time of Abingdon Gardens was advertised as being ‘in the Most Fashionable Part of Kensington’, with the new style mansion blocks heralding a new era in the area, but, it is believed to complicated freeholds and ownership of the surrounding land and homes, the further construction of mansion blocks stopped.
As well as the typical Georgian Terraces, Stratford Village has some very quirky corners, such as Adam and Eve Mews, named after The Adam and Eve, an ancient inn that used to stand on the site. This little street is a cobbled through-road between Kensington High Street and Allen Street, and had two acres of gardens in a long and narrow shape - therefore unsuitable for building typical large London Victorian houses, so mews stables were built in the 1880s and was largely occupied by animals, workers and poorer Kensington residents.
Many of the buildings still feature the original double garage doors and first floor hayloft doors. There are also still some original standpipes that bear the name of Thomas Crapper, the man who popularised the “water closet” and whose name is still used colloquially for this most essential room!
In 1940, a high explosive bomb fell directly onto the Mews, meaning many of the properties had to be rebuilt, but the Conservation area was extended in 1981 to include the mews.
This very small area is a little oasis of calm in the centre of Kensington, with everything you need for everyday living, including a newsagent, pharmacy, gentleman’s barber, beauty salon, restaurant, butcher, grocery store, interior designer, and two wonderful delicatessens. Many of these businesses have been serving locals for decades and are an integral part of the community - very unusual for busy parts of London.
There are also three very good pubs; The Princess Victoria, The Britannia and The Devonshire Arms, built in 1851 and a cornerstone of local history being popular with local residents, workers and visitors alike, reflecting the vibe of its Kensington neighbourhood. There are also plenty of restaurants and everything else you need right on your doorstep on High Street Kensington and its surrounding areas.
With its amenities, convenient location and wide selection of lovely houses – including terraced, semi-detached, in particular the semi-detached houses on Scarsdale Villas (most of which have off street parking) – as well as fabulous flats, it really is an exceptional area to live.
House prices range from £2.25m for a mews house in Adam & Eve Mews, rising to £9.95m for a new built house on Abingdon Road.
We currently have a charming four bedroom family house for sale on Abingdon Road. Arranged over four floors, it’s on the market for the first time in 40 years and now in need of modernisation to put your stamp on it. It has a lovely west facing garden and is right in the heart of Stratford Village. An opportunity not to be missed.
View more info or take a virtual tour on our On The Market listings here: https://www.onthemarket.com/details/9755131/
TENURE: Freehold
PRICE £3,950,000, Subject to Contract.