43-725: Holland Park is an area of Kensington , on the western edge of Central London , that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', Holland Park is among the most expensive residential areas in London and the United Kingdom . Past and present residents include David and Victoria Beckham , Sir Elton John , David Cameron , Ed Sheeran , Sir Richard Branson , and Robbie Williams , among others. The small neighborhood
86-430: A blue plaque on the building. The building underwent significant alterations. When, in 1957, record producer Denis Preston was looking for a property in which to set up a recording studio, his assistant engineer Joe Meek found the premises, which had unusually high ceilings and a basement squash court , suitable for conversion into a studio. Preston, Meek and (a year later) engineer Adrian Kerridge then established
129-580: A top ten hit in the UK later that year. In 1956, he established Lansdowne Studios (and associated label Lansdowne Records) in Holland Park , west London. The same year he produced Humphrey Lyttelton 's record " Bad Penny Blues " with the recording engineer Joe Meek . When Meek left Lansdowne in 1960, he took inspiration from Preston's independent approach and expanded on this by also producing in his own recording studio . In 1958, immediately after
172-466: A northern half of semi-wild woodland, central section of formal garden areas, and southernmost section used for sport. Holland House is now a fragmentary ruin, having been devastated by incendiary bombing during the Second World War in 1940, but the ruins and the grounds were bought by London County Council in 1952 from the last private owner, the 6th Earl of Ilchester . Today the remains of
215-494: A particular record label and would often risk cutting a record before pitching for a deal . He has been described as "Europe's first independent record producer", and as "probably the most important figure to emerge from the British jazz business". Neil Ardley described him as "a rare Diaghilev like figure" who steered many of the key figures of the British jazz scene into the studio when nobody else would record them. He
258-489: Is a Grade II listed eight-storey building which was originally constructed in 1902–04 by Scottish architect William Flockhart, for South African mining magnate Sir Edmund Davis. The building contained apartments and artists' workshops. Among the artists who had studios in the building in the early decades of the 20th century were Charles Ricketts , Charles Haslewood Shannon , Glyn Philpot , Vivian Forbes , James Pryde , and Frederick Cayley Robinson , who are commemorated on
301-570: Is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , around 2.9 miles (4.6 km) 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 , containing the Albert Memorial , the Serpentine Gallery and Speke 's monument. South Kensington and Gloucester Road are home to Imperial College London ,
344-525: Is another definable area of Kensington. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea forms part of the most densely populated local government district in the United Kingdom. This high density has come about through the subdivision of large mid-rise Georgian and Victorian terraced houses (generally of four to six floors) into flats. The less-affluent northern extremity of Kensington has high-rise residential buildings, while this type of building in
387-472: Is further home to the embassies of several countries, including Azerbaijan , Ukraine , Greece , Jordan , Russia and Lebanon . The area is principally composed of tree-lined streets with large Victorian mansions and contains shops, cultural tourist attractions such as the Design Museum , luxury spas, hotels, and restaurants along Holland Park Avenue and Kensington High Street . Holland Park
430-469: Is located between Notting Hill and South Kensington , west of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park . While there are no official boundaries, the Holland Ward was historically bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road to the west, Holland Park Avenue to the north, and Kensington Palace Gardens to the east. Adjacent districts are Notting Hill to the north, Earl's Court to
473-516: Is well served by public transport . Most of Kensington is served by three stations in the Travelcard Zone 1 : High Street Kensington , Gloucester Road and South Kensington . All three are served by the Circle line which connects them to London's railway terminals. The District line also serves all three stations, albeit on different branches; it links the latter two to Westminster and
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#1732771831928516-1050: The Abbey Road Studios in London; the recordings were issued on the Parlophone label. Inspired by the example of Norman Granz to set up as an independent producer, he supervised recordings issued on the independent Melodisc label, including Lord Kitchener's " London Is the Place for Me "; recordings by Roaring Lion ; early recordings by Humphrey Lyttelton with Freddy Grant as the Grant-Lyttelton Paseo Jazz Band; and pianist Mike McKenzie . He also produced recordings by pianist George Shearing and blues musicians Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White . In 1952, he produced recordings in London by American singer Marie Bryant , including Sam Manning 's risqué calypso " Don't Touch Me Tomato ", for
559-591: The City . The Piccadilly line also links South Kensington and Gloucester Road to the West End in about 10 minutes, and in the other direction to Chiswick , Ealing , Hounslow and Heathrow Airport in around 20–40 minutes, depending on the area of choice. In addition Kensington (Olympia) in Travelcard Zone 2 serves the western part of Kensington, with District line trains to Earl's Court and High Street Kensington. Nearby West Kensington station takes its name from
602-502: The City of London . The building also houses Lebedev's TV channel London Live , with its news studio situated in part of the former department store, using St Mary Abbots church and Kensington Church Street as live backdrop. Kensington is crossed east–west by three main roads, the most important of which is the A4 Cromwell Road which connects it to Central London on the east and to Hounslow and Heathrow Airport on
645-555: The Combined Counties Football League . Denis Preston Sidney Denis Preston ( né Prechner , 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffle scenes from the 1940s to the 1960s. Preston worked independently; he was not contracted to
688-615: The Domesday Book . The bishop's heir, Robert de Mowbray , rebelled against King William II and his vast feudal barony was forfeited to the Crown. Aubrey de Vere I thus became a tenant-in-chief , holding directly from the king after 1095, which increased his status in feudal England. He granted the church and an estate within the manor to Abingdon Abbey in Oxfordshire , at the deathbed request of his eldest son Geoffrey. As
731-600: The Indo-Jazz Fusions albums by John Mayer and Joe Harriott. He put together the Lansdowne String Quartet, which recorded John Mayer's Shanta Quintet with jazz sitar player Diwan Motihar, and accompanied saxophonist Tony Coe on Tony's Basement (1967). Preston died in Hove , Sussex , in 1979. His Sunday Times obituary described him as "probably the most important figure to emerge from
774-563: The Notting Hill race riots , Preston was active in the anti-racism movement. With musician and critic Fred Dallas , and musicians Johnny Dankworth , Cleo Laine , Winifred Atwell , George Melly and others, he helped set up the Stars Campaign for Interracial Friendship (SCIF). The organisation linked with activist Claudia Jones to arrange several events and clubs in the area on a non-racial and anti-fascist basis. During
817-721: The Royal College of Art , and Kensington and Chelsea College . The Olympia Exhibition Hall is just over the western border in West Kensington . Kensington is administered within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and lies within the Kensington parliamentary constituency. The head office of newspaper group DMGT is located in Northcliffe House off Kensington High Street in part of
860-562: The Royal College of Music , the Royal Albert Hall , Natural History Museum , Victoria and Albert Museum , and Science Museum . The area is also home to many embassies and consulates. The manor of Chenesitone is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, which in the Anglo-Saxon language means "Chenesi's ton " (homestead/settlement). One early spelling is Kesyngton , as written in 1396. The manor of Kensington, in
903-518: The Westfield shopping centre in nearby White City. Kensington's second group of commercial buildings is at South Kensington , where several streets of small to medium-sized shops and service businesses are situated close to South Kensington tube station . This is also the southern end of Exhibition Road , the thoroughfare which serves the area's museums and educational institutions. The boundaries of Kensington are not well-defined; in particular,
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#1732771831928946-462: The Kyoto Garden (1991) and Fukushima Memorial Garden (2012), a youth hostel , a children's playground, squirrels and peacocks . In 2010, the park set aside a section for pigs whose job was to reclaim the area from nettles etc., in order to create another meadow area for wildflowers and fauna. Cattle were used subsequently to similar effect. The Holland Park Ecology Centre (2013), operated by
989-908: The Lyragon label, an offshoot of Polygon Records . Preston continued to edit and occasionally present World of Jazz on BBC radio. He set up Lansdowne Productions in 1953. The following year, he also founded Record Supervision Ltd, a production company which licensed recordings to major labels . In 1955, he accepted a licensing deal with Pye Records and produced records for Chris Barber , Acker Bilk , Alex Welsh , Frank Holder , Sandy Brown and Al Fairweather , Terry Lightfoot , and Kenny Baker . He also produced some of Lonnie Donegan 's early skiffle recordings, including " Rock Island Line ", recorded in July 1954 and first released on Chris Barber's album New Orleans Joys in January 1955 before becoming
1032-679: The Phillimore Estate (there are at least four roads with the word Phillimore in their name) and the Campden Hill Square area. In the late 19th century, a number of notable artists and art collectors (including Frederic Leighton , P.R.A. and Val Prinsep ), known as the Holland Park Circle , lived in the area, especially in Melbury Road and Holland Park Road . Lansdowne House, at Lansdowne Road.
1075-505: The borough's Ecology Service, provides environmental education programmes including nature walks, talks, programmes for schools, and outdoor activity programs for children. In the northwest of the park near Abbotsbury Road , installed in 2000, is the outdoor sculpture Tortoises with Triangle and Time by Wendy Taylor , commissioned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the Millennium . Kensington Kensington
1118-526: The charging hours Monday-Friday to pay a daily fee of £8). In 2020 a temporary cycle lane on Kensington High Street caused a nationwide media stir. The temporary cycle lane was installed by the local council in September 2020 with £700,000 in funding from central government grants, but it was removed in December 2020. Kensington has one football team, Kensington Borough F.C. , which currently plays in
1161-531: The county of Middlesex , was one of several hundred granted by King William the Conqueror (1066–1089) to Geoffrey de Montbray (or Mowbray), Bishop of Coutances in Normandy, one of his inner circle of advisors and one of the wealthiest men in post- Conquest England . He granted the tenancy of Kensington to his follower Aubrey de Vere I , who was holding the manor from him as overlord in 1086, according to
1204-466: The de Veres became Earls of Oxford , their principal manor at Kensington came to be known as Earl's Court, as they were not resident in the manor, and their manorial business was not conducted in the great hall of a manor house but in a courthouse. In order to differentiate it, the new sub-manor granted to Abingdon Abbey became known as Abbot's Kensington and the church St Mary Abbots . The original Kensington Barracks , built at Kensington Gate in
1247-902: The early 1960s, Preston worked with EMI on their Columbia label. He produced Acker Bilk's international hit " Stranger on the Shore " in 1961. Preston was quoted in 1963: "I was a great admirer of those involved in traditional jazz. It was very alive and active. Colyer and Barber seemed to be ploughing a lonely furrow, united against the world.... But with every successive would-be hit, another spark has died." Preston's production branched out from traditional jazz into folk , modern jazz and guitar -based genres, working with artists such as Jack Elliot , Roger Whittaker , Wout Steenhuis , Shawn Phillips , Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey , as well as African and Indian -inspired artists Amancio D'Silva and Kofi Ghanaba . Among his jazz production successes were Stan Tracey's "Under Milk Wood" Suite , and
1290-400: The end of the Second World War , in July 1945, he organised concerts featuring black musicians such as Freddy Grant , and also edited the influential Jazz Music magazine. He visited New York in 1948 for Decca Records , and while there heard Trinidadian musicians play calypso music. In January 1950, he supervised recordings made by calypso musicians Lord Kitchener and Lord Beginner at
1333-471: The former boundaries with Hammersmith and is not in the Borough. A number of local bus services link Kensington into the surrounding districts, and key hubs are Kensington High Street and South Kensington station. These bus services were improved in frequency and spread from 2007 until 2010 when the western extension of the London congestion charge area existed (which required drivers of cars and vans during
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1376-551: The house form a backdrop for the open air Holland Park Theatre, which is the home of Opera Holland Park . To the immediate south of the park is the former site of the Commonwealth Institute , now home to the Design Museum . The park contains a café, as well as the Belvedere Restaurant that is attached to the orangery , a giant chess set, a cricket pitch, tennis courts, two Japanese gardens -
1419-474: The house. Large parts of Holland Park were constructed between 1860 and 1880 by master builders William and Francis Radford, who were contracted to build over 200 houses in the area. Notable 19th-century residential developments in the area include the Royal Crescent and Aubrey House . It also included some small areas around the fringes which had never been part of the grounds of Holland House, notably
1462-699: The large Barkers department store building. In addition to housing the offices for the DMGT newspapers Daily Mail , Mail on Sunday and Metro , Northcliffe House also accommodates the offices of the newspapers owned by Evgeny Lebedev : The Independent , The Independent on Sunday , and the Evening Standard . The i newspaper, sold to Johnston Press in 2016, is still produced from offices in Northcliffe House. Most of these titles were for many decades produced and printed in Fleet Street in
1505-540: The late 18th century, were demolished in 1858 and new barracks were built in Kensington Church Street. The focus of the area is Kensington High Street , a busy commercial centre with many shops, typically upmarket. The street was declared London's second best shopping street in February 2005 due to its wide range and number of shops. However, since October 2008 the street has faced competition from
1548-614: The north east is situated the large public Royal Park of Kensington Gardens (contiguous with its eastern neighbour, Hyde Park ). The other main green area in Kensington is Holland Park , on the north side of the eastern end of Kensington High Street. Many residential roads have small communal garden squares , for the exclusive use of the residents. The sub districts of Kensington: South Kensington and Earl's Court also consist largely of private housing. North Kensington and West Kensington are largely devoid of features to attract
1591-415: The south, and Shepherd's Bush to the west. The district was rural until the 19th century, and most of the area now referred to by the name Holland Park was formerly the grounds of a Jacobean mansion called Cope Castle . In the later decades of that century the owners of the house sold off the more outlying parts of its grounds for residential development, and the district which evolved took its name from
1634-900: The southern part is only represented by the Holiday Inn 's London Kensington Forum Hotel in Cromwell Road , a 27-storey building. Notable attractions and institutions in Kensington include Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, the Royal Albert Hall opposite the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, the Royal College of Music , the Natural History Museum , the Science Museum , the Victoria and Albert Museum , Heythrop College , Imperial College ,
1677-619: The southern part of Kensington has conflicting and complex borders with Chelsea (another ancient manor) whether electoral or postal definitions are used, and has similar architecture. To the west, a border is clearly defined by the line of the Counter Creek marked by the West London railway line . To the north, the only obvious border line is Holland Park Avenue, to the north of which is the district of Notting Hill (another ancient manor), usually classed as within "North Kensington". In
1720-444: The studio, and made their first recordings there in 1958. The studio was London's first independent music recording studio. In 1962, an enlarged control room overlooking the studio floor was opened. Kerridge later became the studio's owner. The studios closed in 2006 and the building was subsequently converted into 13 self-contained apartments, while retaining a small recording studio. The park covers about 22.5 hectares (56 acres), with
1763-574: The visitor. Kensington is, in general, an extremely affluent area, a trait that it shares with Chelsea, its neighbour to the south. The area has some of London's most expensive streets and garden squares, and at about the turn of the 21st century the Holland Park neighbourhood became particularly high-status. In early 2007 houses sold in Upper Phillimore Gardens, immediately east of Holland Park , for over £20 million. Brompton
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1806-399: The west. Parallel to the north is Kensington Road (of which Kensington High Street forms the eastern part), linking central London and Hammersmith and Hounslow to the area. To the south is Fulham Road, which connects South Kensington with Fulham to the south-west. North-south connections are not as well-developed and there is no obvious single north–south route through the area. Kensington
1849-551: Was born Sidney Denis Prechner on 16 November 1916 in Stoke Newington , London , the son of Louis Prechner and Sarah née Hobsbaum. He changed his surname to Preston by deed poll in 1946. His cousin was the historian (and jazz critic) Eric Hobsbawm . From 1940, Denis Preston was a regular presenter of shows on BBC Radio, including Radio Rhythm Club and later Radio Blackbirds , on which he championed black American jazz performers such as Duke Ellington . After
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