West Kensington

Very early on a bright but cold Saturday morning I decided to venture out and use public transport for the first time in four months. Dressed as though I was setting out to rob a bank with a plentiful supply of hand gel, I was ready to travel on the Underground. I would still adhere to my own safety measures of walking between stations as far as possible and never to be on the tube for more than 15 minutes. So here I am at the 48th station on the District Line, West Kensington. 

The station was opened by the Metropolitan District railway in 1874 as Fulham - North End. When the North End station opened two builders, Gibbs and Flew, began to build the West Kensington estate on land that had been owned by the confectioner James Gunter. They built tall Victorian terraced housing with basements for the servants. They persuaded the railway company to change the name of the station to West Kensington and built 1,200 homes here.

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Always good to see any kind of greenery on a station platform.

The entrance to the station was rebuilt in 1927 and was designed by Charles Holden. There are three other stations within walking distance that I have already visited and written about: Olympia, West Brompton and Fulham Broadway. Consequently today's walk will be about filling in the gaps.

I exited the station onto North End Road and turned left. On the corner of Talgarth Road and North End Road is the imposing Edwardian building of the Famous Three Kings pub. In the early 70s the pub became a music venue, known as The Nashville Rooms. It became one of the high spots for punk with many well known groups performing here including the Sex Pistols and The Stranglers. Live music stopped in 1980 when the pub was sold. It is now a sports pub with multiple big screens showing live sport.

This dual carriageway which I needed to cross, known here as Talgarth Road is part of the A4 which leads you westwards out of London towards Heathrow airport.

What seems like a million miles away from the dual carriageway but is only a hundred metres or so is Gwendwr Gardens. Before WW2 this site had been the Cedars Lawn tennis club. Mr R. G Gunter contributed to the cost of laying out the land as a commemoration of the extensive damage that the area suffered during the war. The park was opened in July 1949.

 In 1948 the freeholders of the land, the Gunter Estate offered the site to Fulham Borough Council on the understanding that it was to be laid out as a 'memorial pleasure ground' for the benefit of local residents.

It is only a small park but it felt very tranquil.

Back on North End Road again, I walked past Nell's Jazz and Blues club. This well known jazz and blues club is a small venue that attracts big acts.

This interesting looking building is the local library as well as a Citizen's Advice Centre.

Continuing northwards I noticed there were a number of middle Eastern shops and restaurants.

 

From the early 20th century, West Kensington became a desirable place to live. Developers began to increase the housing stock by building mansion blocks instead of individual houses.

 

This former courthouse built in 1908 of red brick and Portland stone was converted into flats in 2012. It is a Grade II listed building and the frontage has remained as it was during its courthouse days.

St Mary's Mission hall. A former mission church, it opened in 1895 but now converted to offices. The upper level was the church with classrooms on the lower floor. It was used by St Mary's as the parish church from the WW2 bombings until the new church was opened in 1961.

I past a couple of pleasant looking pubs which I would have been tempted to check out their menu but of course I am going to have to wait a few more weeks before they will be open again.

Close to the pub I noticed this archway which opened out into a small park.

The park is named after Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) a black civil rights champion and statesman. He lived locally on Talgarth Road from 1933-1940. The park was built in 1987 to mark the centenary of Marcus Garvey's birth.

The park also has this large mural by Jacob Joyce which focuses on women who fought for justice and freedom in Britain and its colonies.

I walked through the park and came out on to Avonmore Road. West Kensington is mainly residential but the streets are pleasant enough to walk along, with a variety of housing stock.

It must have its own micro climate here because there were numerous types of palms growing in the gardens.

I walked southwards down and around North End Road. If I continued down here I would arrive at Fulham Broadway station.

There is an amazing variety of food outlets from British, Chinese, Indian, Korean, North African, Lebanese, Iranian and of course Italian.

I walked down as far as this converted church, the Arthill Gallery. The gallery exhibits work from established and emerging artists from Asia and Europe. Its aim is to encourage and create an artistic dialogue between different countries and cultures. 

Walking back to the station I noticed this art deco building. I later discovered that it was a pub built in 1938 with an art deco facade. It closed in 2010 and is now a student hostel.

I walked down Castletown Road, past this decommissioned Congregational church. It is said that Mahatma Gandhi visited the church when he was a law student in London and lived just a short distance away.

The church buildings were bought in 1978 by the Bhavan, an institute for Indian art and culture outside India. 

As I mentioned at the beginning, West Kensington is so close to three other underground stations that it was difficult to find new places of interest. It felt good to be back visiting the streets and places previously unknown to me and after months of being confined to base, so to speak, I am pleased to feel my enthusiasm for exploring new places returning.  I look forward to visiting many more stations soon.