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Facts and places of interest in and around Kensington

Interesting Facts about Kensington

• Kensington's name came from the Anglo-Saxon and means ‘The village or enclosure of Keen-Victory's people'.

• Kensington forms part of the most densely populated local government district (the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) in the United Kingdom.

• It covers five square miles, 70 per cent of which is located in conservation areas.

• Queen Victoria spent her childhood at Kensington Palace and it was here in June 1837, that she learned of her accession to the throne.

• Kensington Palace was once home to Princess Diana.

Places of Interest in and around Kensington

Beauchamp Place  

Well-preserved brick terraces line the street, developed in the late 18 th century. Immaculate shop fronts display designer clothes, shoes and silver and antiques.

Kensington Market  

Church Street is home to the 'new' Kensington Market selling second hand clothes, shoes and accessories. There is a strong emphasis in styles from the 1940s and 1950s. The market also includes work by new designers.

Kensington Gardens  

Kensington Gardens were once part of Kensington Palace . There are magical glades laid out in their present form by George II. The gardens were designed by Sir George Frampton in 1912 and Peter Pan's statue was erected overnight to surprise local children; the pipes are said to disappear regularly.

Kensington Palace  

Kensington Palace was bought as a royal residence by William III in 1689, who engaged Wren and Hawksmoor to enlarge it. Queen Victoria lives on in a bedroom filled with her favourite paintings and souvenirs, and the cot once occupied by each of her nine children. An illusionist gallery painted by William Kent on the walls of the King's Staircase is decorated with realistic figures, who lean over the balustrades and peer at you.

Kensington Palace Gardens  

Kensington Palace Gardens is a broad tree-lined street of enormous 19 th century mansions, developed by James Pennethorne. Once nicknamed Millionaire's Row the road is now home to several embassies.

Kensington High Street  

Kensington High Street is an up-market area with a busy commercial centre and a good range and number of shops.

Kensington Square  

Kensington Square has handsome 18 th century houses surrounding a square, laid out by Thomas Young, where several distinguished writers and artists once lived. Philosopher John Stuart Mill resided at number 18 and Edward Burne-Jones at number 41. Thackeray wrote Vanity Fair in Young Street, adjacent to the square.  

The Natural History Museum  

The lofty halls of Waterhouse's impressive neo-Gothic building provide nearly four acres of gallery space, with 50 million exhibits. The story of evolution is told from dinosaurs to man with bones of mammoths in the Fossil Galleries, a 91ft long model of a blue whale in the Whale Gallery, and spiders in the Creepy-crawlies Gallery. There are many computerised audiovisual displays.

Victoria and Albert Museum 

Seven miles of galleries form the world's largest decorative arts museum. National collections in a gentle ambience, from water colours to wallpaper. Fashions come and go in the Dress Collection, while lasting treasures include Medieval and Byzantine art, an array of oriental carpets, Chinese thrones and samurai swords. Designed by Sir Aston Webb. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1899.  

Science Museum  

Opened in 1857 the Science Museum is an all-embracing panorama of science through the ages. Interactive displays recount discoveries and inventions, from the Industrial Revolution to the Space Age. Holograms, space exploration and a gallery on nutrition. Measure your heartbeat, shake hands with yourself and star in your own special effects video. Also includes Vickers Vimy aircraft, which made the first transatlantic flight in 1919.  

Hyde Park  

Once the haunt of deer, boar and wild cattle and former hunting ground of Henry VIII, acquired from Westminster Abbey in 1536. Elizabeth I hunted in Hyde Park and inaugurated military reviews that were held here for centuries. Opened to the public in 1637, site of the Great Exhibition in 1851. Merges west with Kensington Gardens , together covering 630 acres and forming the largest open space in inner London . Now has boating and swimming in the Serpentine, horse-riding along Rotten Row – former haunt of highwaymen and duellers – and art appreciation in the Serpentine Gallery.