Notting Hill Living
Lansdowne Road
This road was named after Lord Lansdowne, a prominent member of the House of Lords when the Ladbroke Estate was being developed.
The development of Lansdowne Road progressed from a south to north. The first houses were built in the section just above Ladbroke Road, which was land where William Drew was the overall developer under a building agreement with J W Ladbroke.
Drew built Nos. 2-12 (even) on the east side in 1843. these have Drew’s characteristic design of pilasters running from the ground floor to the roof line. The effect is dramatic but the plain flat pilasters are little more than wide plaster strips, for decorative effect, but giving the appearance of supporting large consoles with overhanging eaves.
There were only three houses on the opposite side, Nos. 1-5 (odd), which were built by W Liddard in 1845. these are quite elaborately decorated brick-faced houses, with stucco architraves, ornate cornices on consoles, and stringcourses in the brick work.
The section from Lansdowne Walk to St John’s Gardens was on land where Richard Roy had the building agreement from Ladbroke. Roy used Frederick Woods and William Wheeler to build Nos. 16-30 (even) on the east side in 1845. A year later, he used his usual builder, William Reynolds, for Nos. 9-27 (odd) on the west side.
Between St John’s Gardens and Lansdowne Crescent, Roy used Reynolds to build the houses on both sides in 1846. These are Nos. 29-43 (odd) on the west, and Nos. 32-44 (even) on the east.
Roy had just three plots above Lansdowne Crescent and in 1847 James Lamb of Hyde Park Square took a lease of No. 46 on the east, and Reynolds took Nos. 45 and 47 on the west. Still on the west, there were two plots which fell in the land owned by Charles Blake and in 1851 he granted Nos. 49 and 51 to Michael Longstaff, a builder.
In the early 1850s all of Lansdowne Road further north was owned by Dr Samuel Walker. He granted leases of all his building plots to builders in 1852. Up to Rosmead Road there were several takers of small allocations. David Ramsay took Nos. 53-59 (odd) and Thomas Pocock took Nos. 61-75 (odd). Things went relatively slowly. Ramsay did not finish his houses till 1855 and Pocock’s houses were still being finished in 1862. Ramsay also took the end house, No. 77, but Thomas Allason (the architect son of the more famous Thomas Allason) took this over half-built in 1856. On the east side, Nos. 48 and 52 were taken by James Emmins and completed in 1857. The longer range from 52-66 (even) was allotted to Henry Wade Smith and completed in 1860.
The area beyond Rosmead Road seems to have been jinxed. The builder, Kenelm Chandler, took the whole range of houses on the west side, Nos. 79-123 (odd). He seems to have gone bust because Walker’s representatives had to grant new leases in 1858-60 to various builders, including J D Cowland (Nos. 89 and 111) and William Reading (Nos. 113-117(odd)). (The demolishers have taken Nos. 105-111 (odd), 121, and 123.) It was 1862 before they were all completed.
On the east side, No. 68-102 (even) were taken by another doomed builder, Jacob Barry. In 1860-2 Richard Roy (who by then had acquired the freehold of this land) had to re-grant some of the leases. The takers were John Froud, a builder from Shepherd’s Bush (Nos. 78-82 (even)) and Joseph Lane, a carpenter (Nos. 90-98 (even)).
Nos. 68-102 and Nos. 79-123 are terraces of three-storey stucco-faced houses. At roof level, some have pierced parapets and others have Dutch gables. The ground floors have canted bow windows which support balustraded balconies. The windows on first and second floors are round headed.
Lansdowne House was built in 1904 to designs by William Flockhart.
