Blenheim Crescent houses from communal garden - geograph

Blenheim Crescent is a street in the

Ladbroke Estate The Ladbroke Estate was a substantial estate of land owned by the Ladbroke family in Notting Hill, London, England, in the early 19th century that was gradually developed and turned into housing during the middle years of the century, as London ...

area of the

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 cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

district of west London. It runs roughly west from a t-junction with

Clarendon Road Clarendon Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of London. It runs roughly south to north from Holland Park Avenue. It is named after George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, who was Lord Privy Seal when the road was built. The suffrag ...

to east where it becomes Talbot Road at its junction with

Portobello Road Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is ...

. There is also a junction with

Kensington Park Road Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Gardens ...

. The bookshop in the film ''

'' is based on the real Travel Bookshop at 13 Blenheim Crescent, although this closed in 2011, and is now the ''Notting Hill Bookshop''. In 1931, 10-year-old

Vera Page Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarrag ...

left her home at 22 Blenheim Crescent and visited her aunt Minnie at no. 70, but never returned home. She was discovered murdered two days later, but the case was never solved. The stained-glass designer

Edward Liddall Armitage Edward Liddall Armitage or E. Liddall Armitage (1887–1967) was an English stained-glass designer. Visitors included Sarah Churchill,

Colin MacInnes Colin MacInnes (20 August 1914 – 22 April 1976) was an English novelist and journalist. Early life MacInnes was born in London, the son of singer James Campbell McInnes and novelist Angela Mackail, who was the granddaughter of the Pre-Rap ...

and

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

. In September 1958, there was fighting between white and black youth nearby and outside, leading to a police car ramming the door to effect entry. Later that month, the police raided an outbuilding where illegal gambling was taking place. In the late 1960s, the section between Portobello Road and Kensington Park Road was home to many businesse associated with London's hippy scene. No. 2 was the Dog Shop and later the Plastic Passion/Minus Zero record shop. No. 12 was Mike's Cafe, and guests included Tom Jones,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, Marsha Hunt,

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

, and

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

. The editorial office of the literary magazine ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'' were at 2 Blenheim Crescent. It ran from 1975 to 1981, and until 1979, was edited by

Emma Tennant Emma Christina Tennant FRSL (20 October 1937 – 21 January 2017) was an English novelist and editor of Scottish extraction, known for a post-modern approach to her fiction, often imbued with fantasy or magic. Several of her novels give a femini ...

References

{{coord, 51.5143, -0.2101, display=title Notting Hill Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Shopping streets in London