A lunchtime wander around Notting Hill, London

For my lunchtime wander today, I decided to drift off towards Holland Park and Notting Hill. Again this is somewhere I've been before but not for a while now, and as with many places I visit there are always either new sights to see and photo, or vistas I have previously missed.

One thing I do particularly like about this area of London is the curved buildings on many of the street corners, mainly I suspect as a result of the roads not being a grid system like some other parts of London.

This first building has all the hall marks of being a pub at one time in its life. From similar buildings I have seen, I can imagine a sign with the pub name at the very top of the building and a list of various ales on the long grey plastered section. It looks like it may have had an entrance too which has now been covered. Worried that I may be completely wrong, I decided to conduct some internet research and came across this wonderful site called Lost Pubs in London which revealed that this indeed used to be a pub, called The Unicorn but has been a residential dwelling for some years now.

The former Unicorn Pub, corner of Princedale Road and Penzance Place, Notting Hill, London

I was also curious about what this building, also in Penzance Place, could have been, but was not able to uncover any information.

Unidentified pink building, Penzance Place, Notting Hill, London

Again I'm quite sure what is now The Cross was something in a former life but despite doing, admittedly only a little, research I was unable to uncover anything on this one either.

The Cross, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

Fortunately what is now The Cowshed was easier to discover its former function. This was also a former pub, called The Portland Arms.

The former Portland Arms pub, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

The area in and around Clarendon Cross has some wonderful shop fronts or which these are only a couple.

L Maison shopfront, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, London

Summerill and Bishop, shopfront, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, London

This area also boasts something of a more industrial past, with a pottery and this former brick works, now a residential dwelling. The name of the building is clear to see, but look about half-way down and there are also the words BUILDERS and CONTRACTORS in the brickwork.

The former Clarendon brick works, Notting Hill, London

The former Clarendon brick works, Notting Hill, London

As I made my way back down Portland Road, I spotted this old shop sign above a restaurant, for James Bricknell, decorators.

Old sign, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

Finally on this wander, I found this wonderful, and very much in use, butchers. 

Lidgate butchers, Holland Park Avenue, London

It's hard to make out in this picture but the LIDGATE is actually a mosaic.

Mosaic, Lidgate butchers, Holland Park Avenue, London

More Urban Wandering in and around Holland Park, London

Having been inspired by my previous urban wander around the Holland Park area, I headed straight back there on the next available, sunny lunchtime, but this time with the intention of actually entering the park itself.

Archways in Holland Park, London W14

This next photo was taken looking down along the walkway where there are several murals painted by the artist Mao Wen Biao, depicting imaginary scenes from the garden parties held by the Earl of Ilchester here in the late 19th century.

Murals in Holland Park, London W14

The murals are in a semi-enclosed walkway. This is the view looking in from the outside.

Archways in Holland Park, London W14

The Orangery, Holland Park, London W14

I haven't stayed in many Youth Hostels in my life, but if I ever got the opportunity then this one would be high up on the list.

Youth Hostel, Holland Park, London W14

 Youth Hostel, Holland Park, London W14

Leaving Holland Park I wandered through Oakwood Court again, but this time through another side alley. Whereas before I had only seen staircases which went down from the top by 3 or 4 flights, these ones came right down to ground level.

Staircases in Oakwood Court, London W14

These next two photos taken on the walk back to the office are actually in Kensington Olympia as opposed to the Holland Park area, but they are of something I've been trying to get a half-decent view of for a while now, the former Kensington Olympia Motorail Depot, which is now a car park and can just be seen in the distance beyond the allotments. As a kid I remember going into Paddington station early in the morning and seeing the motorail there being loaded up and readied for the trip down to Cornwall. Such form of travel is now, perhaps sadly, a thing of the past, having finished some time in the 1980's. There's a short, British Pathe, promotional clip of the motorail from Kensington Olympia here.

Former Kensington Olympia Motorail Depot, London W14

Also, as I reseacrhed the motorail depot, I found that Kensington Olympia boasted considerably more platforms than I had previously assumed and that the flats near these allotments have been built on the former site of the eastern most platforms.

Former Kensington Olympia Motorail Depot, London W14

An Urban Wander near Holland Park, London W14

I was delighted late last week when not only did I manage to find time to take a lunch break, but also the weather was reasonable, and I found a few nearby streets that I'd not wandered around before. This particular wander took me to a collection of roads to the north of Kensington High Street, east of Addison Road, but west of Holland Park itself. Unlike a lot of my wanders which take me off in search of abandonment, decay and ghost signs, this drift was very much the opposite as I found myself drifting through tree-lined streets of magnificent houses, no doubt with a price tag to match.

Doorway on Holland Park Road, London W14 

As always I'm pleased when I discover something new to me, so here was a museum I never knew existed for an artist I'd never heard of, Frederick Leighton, perhaps meriting a return visit one day to look inside. Also, many of the houses in this area bear plaques stating that various artists had lived in the area, known as the Holland Park Circle. 

Leighton House, Holland Park Road, London W14

Doorway on Holland Park Road, London W14 

Doorway on Melbury Road, London W14 

 Doorway on Melbury Road, London W14 

 Doorway on Melbury Road, London W14

Melbury Road, London W14

 Doorway on Melbury Road, London W14

The only part of this wander which did veer slightly off-piste and down a side road was here, where intrigued by the shapes of the back of the buildings, I turned into a service road for the flats in Oakwood Court.

Back of flats, Oakwood Court, London W14

Presumably these elevated, zig-zag stairways are some sort of fire escape, although strange that they don't come all the way down to ground level. Made for a good picture though.

 Back of flats, Oakwood Court, London W14

 Back of flats, Oakwood Court, London W14

As my wander drew to a close, I spotted this curious building on Napier Road. Little evidence though to suggest what it perhaps once was.

Napier Road, London W14

I think there are a few more side streets heading up towards the park itself which I didn't have time to explore, so will definitely be returning soon.

    

An Urban Wander from Paddington to Hammersmith

With some time on my hands, and some reasonably favourable weather, I ended up walking between meetings rather than getting the tube. The pictures are commentary below are from my latest Urban Wander, which once more took me through some familiar territory, but with a new set of eyes.

The first picture is of a huge ghost sign just above Bayswater tube station. I cannot decipher the brand but I can make out the words

SAFETY

RAZORS

AND

BLADES

The manufacturer may be Gilette, or possibly Cleemak, but that's based on having seen previous shaving adverts and not from what I can (or can't) make out in this sign. There's also some italicised writing in the bottom left hand corner which reads

HE

NOW

?????

SHAVES

Ghost sign for Safety Razors and Blades, Bayswater, London

 This next ghost sign is in Notting Hill Gate. Being a music enthusiast, and one time devout record collector, I must have walked through Notting Hill Gate hundreds of times but only saw this ghost sign for the first time last week. It's slightly curious that the right hand third of the sign is missing. It doesn't look as though it's been painted over, and there's no suggestion that a building was once built right up against this one, thus overwriting the sign.

DUNDEE

MARMALADE

THE

FINEST

EVER

Ghost sign for Dundee Marmalade, Notting Hill Gate

After having walked through what felt like prime ghost sign spotting territory, I ventured south along side Holland Park. No ghost signs here but still plenty of places of interest. Until I discovered ghost signs, one of my previous passions had been London Mews, and Holland Park Mews was one I'd never seen before. Whilst many other mews are hidden away and quite understated, this one was very grand, with it's own signed entrance.

Holland Park Mews, London

Holland Park Mews, London

The last picture from this Urban Wander is one I've been trying to get for a while now, but it's in quite an awkward place. The sign is actually on the back of a building along the London Overground line, just before Kensington Olympia station as you approach from the south. I had to stand up tall and hold the phone over my head to get this picture above the parapet of the bridge crossing the railway line. Apart from the first two letters possibly being "RE" the rest is a bit of a mystery.

Ghost sign near Kensington Olympia station, London