Powis Square, London

Last updated

25 Powis Square, Notting Hill 25 Powis Square, Notting Hill - London. (5464512589).jpg
25 Powis Square, Notting Hill

Powis Square is a garden square and locality in Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. The closest London Underground station to the square is Westbourne Park tube station.

It was planned in the mid-19th century by noted local architect Thomas Allom. [1] There is conflicting information as to whether the square was named, along with nearby Arundel Gardens and Talbot Road, after the Talbot family of the Earls of Shrewsbury, or after Powis Castle owing to the Welsh Marches origins of the land's leaseholder, W. K. Jenkins. [1] [2]

Originally built as upper-middle class residences, the area experienced dramatic social decline in the 20th century and was described as being "largely a slum area" by the 1930s. The square and surrounding areas were later exploited by the notorious slum landlord Peter Rachman who, in the 1950s and 60s, had acquired many properties on the square and in the surrounding area. [2]

In 1968, the council bought the garden square [1] after a series of 'break-ins' by activists campaigning for social change towards the end of slum-era Notting Hill. [3] Today, Powis Square Gardens is now one of three publicly-accessible pocket parks in the Portobello Road area along with Tavistock Gardens, and Colville Square Gardens. [4]

The Tabernacle, a local community arts centre with a long association with the Notting Hill Carnival, is located there. [5]

In 1962, The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones lived on the west side of the square. [6]

25 Powis Square was used for exterior scenes in Nicolas Roeg's 1970 film Performance , starring James Fox and Mick Jagger. [7] [8] The square is also referenced in the 1985 song "E=MC²" by Big Audio Dynamite, which was partially inspired by the film. [9]

Lemmy Kilmister gave his debut as a bass player for Hawkwind on a free open air concert at a park on Powis Square in August 1971. [10]

Roy Stewart ran a basement gymnasium at 32A Powis Square, Kensington, west London which was opened in 1954. [11] [ circular reference ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea</span> Royal borough in United Kingdom

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notting Hill</span> Area of London, England

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 Market. From around 1870, Notting Hill had an association with artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notting Hill Gate</span> Street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London

Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Rachman</span> Polish property mogul (1919–1962)

Perec "Peter" Rachman was a Polish-born landlord who operated in Notting Hill, London, England in the 1950s and early 1960s. He became notorious for his exploitation of his tenants, with the word "Rachmanism" entering the Oxford English Dictionary as a synonym for the exploitation and intimidation of tenants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regent's Park and Kensington North (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997–2010

Regent's Park and Kensington North was a constituency in Central and West London represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington (UK Parliament constituency)</span> British parliamentary constituency

Kensington is a constituency in Greater London which first existed between 1974 and 1997 and was recreated in 2010. Since 2019, it has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Felicity Buchan of the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Kensington</span> Neighbourhood of west London

North Kensington is an area of west London. It is north of Notting Hill and south of Kensal Green and in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The names North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove describe the same area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Stewart</span> British actor

Roy Stewart was a Jamaican-born British actor. He began his career as a stuntman and went on to work in film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinehurst Court</span> Mansion Block in London, England

Pinehurst Court is a portered Victorian mansion block at 1-9 Colville Gardens, just off Colville Terrace and near the Portobello Market in Notting Hill, London, England. The terrace was initially built in the 1870s by the builder George Frederick Tippett, as single family residences, but from the 1880s the houses began to be subdivided into flats. By 1928 the neighbourhood was described as "rapidly becoming poorer", and by 1935 as a "largely slum area". The gentrification of Notting Hill in the 1980s and 1980s greatly improved the character of the building, which now forms a part of one of London's most fashionable neighbourhoods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tabernacle, Notting Hill</span>

The Tabernacle is a Grade II-listed building in Powis Square, Notting Hill, west London, England, built in 1887 as a church. The building boasts a curved Romanesque façade of red brick and terracotta, and towers with broach spires on either side. Today the Tabernacle serves as a cultural arts and entertainment venue, including a theatre, meeting rooms, music studio, art gallery, bar and kitchen, conservatory and a garden courtyard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Notting Hill</span> Church in London, England

All Saints Notting Hill is a Church of England parish church in Talbot Road, Notting Hill, London. It is a Victorian Gothic Revival stone building with polychromatic decoration. The west tower has five stages with the stump of a spire, and the chancel has paintings by Henry Holiday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Crescent, London</span>

The Royal Crescent is a Grade II* listed street in Holland Park, west London, England, consisting of two curved facing terraces in a crescent shape. The crescent is located on the north side of Holland Park Avenue, west of Addison Avenue, and to the east of the Holland Park Roundabout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colville Gardens</span>

Colville Gardens is a Victorian cul-de-sac street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located north of Colville Terrace and east of the Portobello Market in Notting Hill, London, England. It is bordered on the north side by All Saints' Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pottery Lane</span> Human settlement in England

Pottery Lane is a street in Notting Hill, west London. Today it forms part of one of London's most fashionable and expensive neighbourhoods, but in the mid-19th century it lay at the heart of a wretched and notorious slum known as the "Potteries and the Piggeries". The slum came to the attention of Londoners with the building of the Hippodrome in 1837 by entrepreneur John Whyte. Unfortunately for Whyte a public right of way existed over his land and "dirty and dissolute vagabonds" from the nearby slum invaded his racecourse, adding to his financial difficulties and, in part, leading to the closure of his venture in 1842. Pottery Lane gradually improved in the late 20th century along with the rest of the Notting Hill area, and today the houses there fetch multi-million pound prices. Just one of the original brick kilns still survives; it is located in Walmer Road, just north of Pottery Lane, and bears a commemorative plaque placed there by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhaune Laslett</span> British activist

Rhaune Laslett was a community activist and the principal organiser of the Notting Hill Fayre or Festival, that evolved into the Notting Hill Carnival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladbroke Square</span> Square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Ladbroke Square is a garden square in Notting Hill, west London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emslie Horniman's Pleasance</span>

Emslie Horniman's Pleasance is a park in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Named after the London County Councillor Emslie John Horniman who created it, and opened in 1914. It is the traditional starting point for the Notting Hill Carnival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golborne Road</span>

Golborne Road is a street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London's Kensal Town. The road runs east from Portobello Road to Kensal Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blenheim Crescent</span>

Blenheim Crescent is a street in the Ladbroke Estate area of the Notting Hill district of west London.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Powis Square". Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Colville" (PDF). Colville Community History Project. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  3. "Community Consultation Results Summary" (PDF). Land Use Consultants Ltd. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. "Powis Square Gardens Consultation Report" (PDF). Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. June 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  5. "The Tabernacle, the heart of London's pop culture… and Christmas panto | Chic Londres" . Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  6. "History". The Tabernacle. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  7. "Powis Square", It's Your Colville - Colville Community Forum.
  8. "Performance – In search of the locations for the Mick Jagger classic, 50 years later". British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  9. Luck, Richard. "Performance: The Making Of Britain's Greatest Post-War Film". Sabotage Times. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  10. Lemmy Kilmister: White Line Fever. The Autobiography, S. 81.
  11. "Roy Stewart".

Coordinates: 51°30′58″N0°12′04″W / 51.5162°N 0.2012°W / 51.5162; -0.2012