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 The view east along Kensington High Street in March 2006, dominated by former department storesDerry & Toms andBarkers of Kensington | |
 Interactive map of Kensington High Street | |
| Location | Kensington,London, United Kingdom |
| Postal code | W8 |
| Coordinates | 51°30′03″N0°11′38″W / 51.50083°N 0.19389°W /51.50083; -0.19389 |
| West end | Hammersmith Road |
| Major junctions | A3220,Addison Road,Melbury Road,Kensington Palace Gardens |
| East end | Kensington Road |
| North | Holland Park Notting Hill Gate |
| East | Kensington Gore |
| South | Earls Court |
| West | Hammersmith |
| Construction | |
| Commissioned | 1682 |
| Construction start | 1690s |
| Completion | 1893 |
| Other | |
| Known for | Shopping |
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street inKensington,London, England. The area is identified in theLondon Plan as one of 35 major centres inGreater London.[1]
Kensington High Street is the continuation ofKensington Road and part of theA315. It starts by the entrance toKensington Palace and runs westward through central Kensington. NearKensington (Olympia) station, where theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ends andLondon Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham begins, it ends and becomesHammersmith Road. The street is served byHigh Street Kensington underground station.
In 1682, Francis Barry purchased land in Kensington and began to develop houses.[citation needed]
From the 1690s to 1893, Kensington High Street was developed around a residential terrace, with large houses occupied by a number of distinguished residents. The Terrace was located roughly between present-day Wrights Lane and Adam and Eve Mews.[2]
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Residents have included:[citation needed]
Kensington High Street is one of West London most popular shopping streets, with upmarket shops serving a wealthy area.[citation needed] From the late 19th century until the mid-1970s the street had three classicdepartment stores:Barkers of Kensington,Derry & Toms andPontings. Barkers bought Pontings in 1906 and Derry & Toms in 1920, but continued to run all three as separate entities. In a large building project, which started in 1930 and was not complete until 1958 (theSecond World War halted the project), the company made Derry & Toms and Barkers intoArt Deco palaces. On top of Derry & Toms, Europe's largestroof garden area (1.5 acres (6,100 m2)) was created, consisting of three different gardens with 500 species of plants, fountains, a stream, duck, flamingos and a restaurant – said to serve the best high tea in Kensington.
In 1957,House of Fraser bought the Barkers Group and started to dismantle it. Pontings was closed in 1971, Derry & Toms in 1973, and a much condensed Barkers (from 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) over seven floors to 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) on less than four floors) was allowed to continue until January 2006, when the 135-year-old department store was closed for good.[3]
Part of the Barker premises has now been taken over by AmericanWhole Foods Market, which opened the UK's firstorganic superstore there in June 2007.[4] The rest was added to existing office space used by the headquarters ofAssociated Newspapers.
Kensington High Street was also the site ofBiba in the 1960s and early 1970s. When Derry & Toms closed, the iconic store took the building and accentuated its Art Deco style further. But the 1970s recession, coupled with idealistic business ideas, killed Biba in 1975. The Derry & Toms roof gardens still remain, now known as theKensington Roof Gardens whichRichard Branson'sVirgin occupied as a tenant from 1981 to 2018.[5]
Kensington Market opened on Kensington High Street in 1967. It was a three story building of contemporary fashion. It closed in 2000.
Kensington High Street's future as a shopping street has been threatened by the largeWestfield London, which opened a short distance away inShepherd's Bush in late 2008.[citation needed] However, these factors may be offset to some extent – or even outweighed – by recent changes to the road layout, intended to make the street a more pleasant place to shop. TheRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea decided to experiment with the concept ofshared space, which deputy leader Daniel Moylan had studied abroad. Railings and pedestrian crossings were removed, thereby enabling pedestrians to cross the street wherever they choose. Bicycle racks were placed on the central reservation. The effect over two years was a reduction in accidents, down 44% against a London average of 17%.[6]
Kensington High Street is also home to a large part of the Britishmusic industry, with the UK offices ofmajor labels such asUniversal Music Group,Sony Music,Warner Music Group andEMI all situated in the area.[citation needed]
Furthermore, the secondKahn Design boutique in London is also located on this street.[7]
It is also the site of the formerRoman CatholicPro-Cathedral of England,Our Lady of Victories, now a parish church;Kensington Arcade; and a building housing theConsulate of Romania and the Embassy of Paraguay.[8]
Kensington High Street is served by bus routes9,23,27,28,49,52,70,328,452,C1, night routesN9,N27,N28,N31 andGreenline routes 701 and 702.[citation needed] It is also served byHigh Street Kensington Underground station, on theCircle andDistrict lines.
Covering three floors and 7400 m2 of the regal Barker Building on Kensington High Street, the organic superstore promises to offset 100 per cent of its electricity in partnership with wind power supplierEcotricity,compost all its food waste, and offer fullrecycling for glass, tin, paper and plastic.
