Kensal Town is a district located partly in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, and partly in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. The Grand Union Canal, which passes through it, forms the boundary of the two boroughs. Kensal Town is a sub-district of

Kensal Green Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington, London, North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent ...

. The area lies four miles north-west of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

and is part of the W postcode area. Kensal Town was an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of Chelsea from the middle ages through to 1900.

Origin and toponymy

The origin of the area was as a well wooded, 144 acre, exclave of the Manor and Ancient Parish of Chelsea, since at least the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

, prior to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, when oaks from the area were used to build

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. It was then known as Chelsea-in-the-Wilderness or the Hamlet of Kensal Town. The name 'Kensal' is derived from ''Kingisholt'', meaning 'King's Wood', first recorded in 1253. The Wood was probably located in the exclave of Chelsea now known as Kensal Town. The name 'Kensal Green' was first recorded in 1550 and applied to a long area of roadside common land, to the west of Kensal Town, in the ancient parish of

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

. Commons were frequently situated next to coppice woodlands, and often took their names from those woods.

19th and 20th centuries

Arrival of the canal and the railway

The

Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the English Midlands, Midlan ...

(now known as the Grand Union Canal) opened in 1801 and passed through the south of what was by then a deforested but still rural area. The

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, skirting the very south of the exclave, opened in 1838. The Kensal New Town estate was laid out shortly after the arrival of the railway, lying south of the canal and contained by the boundaries of the exclave. The name is first recorded on an OS map of 1876. Later the name Kensal Town was applied formally to the whole of the exclave, while the name Kensal New Town remained limited to the area south of the canal and other adjacent areas of Kensington that also lay between the railway and the canal. The newly built Kensal New Town Estate quickly attracted a large Irish community, and the surrounding area still has a significant number of Catholic churches. The Estate was disadvantaged by its position between the railway, the canal and the Kensal Green Cemetery. The area north of Harrow Road, where the Queens Park Estate was developed from 1875–81, was more prosperous. During the 19th century, the dog dealer Bill George's 'Canine Castle' establishment was on the Kensal Road. When the local MP for Chelsea, Emslie Horniman, presented an acre of ground between East Row and Bosworth Road to the London County Council in 1911 for recreational purposes, he stated that there was then "no place within a mile or more where children could play, except in the streets, nor anywhere for the mothers and old people to rest". The park was later expanded and is now known as Emslie Horniman Pleasance. The area was much improved when the slums were cleared and replaced with new council housing during the mid-20th century. Chelsea1885

Administrative changes

In 1900, despite stiff local opposition, the exclave of Kensal Town was removed from Chelsea and divided between its neighbours. The area south of the canal joined with the ancient parish of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around 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 Kensingt ...

to form the new

Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Vict ...

. The area north of the canal merged with the ancient parish of

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

to form the new

Metropolitan Borough of Paddington Paddington was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The p ...

. The area remained part of the parliamentary constituency of Chelsea (which had identical boundaries with the ancient parish of Chelsea) until 1915. In 1965, Kensington joined with the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea (the area of ancient parish of Chelsea, minus its former exclave) to form the new London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Paddington merged with

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

to form what is now

Geography and landmarks

Alternative descriptions

Like many areas of London, different parts of Kensal Town are subject to overlapping perceptions of which district or districts they are part of. The area south of the canal, in the

and including the site of the former Kensal New Town estate, is viewed by many residents as also being in North Kensington. Some of the area north of the Canal in the City of Westminster, including the Queens Park Estate and the Mozart Estate, is regarded as also being a part of Queens Park, an area that extends further to the north-east into the former parish and borough of

, now the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

Parks

Emslie Horniman's Pleasance is located in the neighbourhood.

Culture and community

The annual

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

starts at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance. Queens Park Rangers football club was formed nearby at St Jude's institute, Ilbert Street, in 1886.Independent Rs website https://www.indyrs.co.uk/2011/07/history-in-the-making-the-unveiling-of-the-plaque-at-st-judes-hall/

References

{{City of Westminster Districts of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Areas of London Districts of the City of Westminster