Thoughts from our Property Experts

Welcome to YOUhome’s latest local view of the best places to live in London: Kensington Court neighbourhood.  Whilst introducing a fine apartment for sale in the Kensington Court Gardens mansion block, in our latest blog we take the opportunity to illustrate the wider scope of the area.  

 

Kensington Court Gardens is situated on the south side of London’s Kensington Court Conservation area. Although located only moments from Kensington High Street and Kensington Palace, it is a quieter, characterful area offering families a vibrant yet discreet lifestyle. The area townscape has an almost impermeable secluded character likened to a peaceful English backwater. These qualities are very much loved by the locals.

 

Kensington Court Conservation area and the bordering De Vere Conservation area are West London’s hidden residential gems. Set in simply the prettiest of neighbourhoods, it is easy to see why they are so popular with families. We explore the top reasons for Kensington Court Conservation area’s rising popularity:

 

To first explain, a London conservation area’s character is defined by a combination of elements including architecture, building uses, local activities, building materials and features, as well as the relationship between buildings and their settings.

Today, the street layout of the Kensington Court area has formed a highly distinctive and exclusive triangular shape, with entrances from all three corners, although one is pedestrian only.

 

The triangular conservation area has an almost impermeable character to it, one of the reasons why it is so popular today.

 

 

Situated so close to the Royal Park, Kensington Gardens, it effectively means that locals can walk to the park and enjoy its many amenities as part of everyday life. 

 

There are several charming small scale shopping parades surrounding the area which have characterful historic shopfronts. Independent and artisan in nature, locals support and frequent these amenities with enduring loyalty. The florist, the hairdresser, the art gallery and the gift shop serve local tastes and needs.  

  

The area is very much defined by the long-standing presence of Thomas’s Kensington, one of West London’s most popular co-ed pre-prep and prep schools. With three sites nestled amongst the residential roads of Victoria Road, Cottesmore Gardens and St Albans Grove, Thomas’s is an endearing and much treasured part of the local community.  

 

With the news that Thomas’s will be moving to a new purpose-built facility in St. Albans Grove in 2025, the school promises to draw more domestic and international families to the area.

There is no shortage of popular fine dining restaurants and artisan cafes with freshly baked foods served daily. Frequented by families after school drop-off, many cafes welcome dogs and their human owners alike! Locando OttoMezzo and The Builder’s Arms are favourites.  

 

The area also has a small number of artists’ studios that continue to function as such. The local areas became popular with artists of all sorts in the mid nineteenth century. Launceston Place attracted a number of them including Thomas F. Marshall (painter), Spirodone Gambardella (painter and astronomer), Alfred Stevens (designer and sculptor) and for a time the exiled French painter Charles Francois Daubigny!

 

Today these fine buildings live on, and residents’ appreciation of art is met by the thriving local galleries in the area.

 

A favourite part of the character of these conservation areas comes from the local mews, not only for their beautiful architectural form, but for their nostalgic historical association with a former age of the horse and carriage.

 

The endearing features of mews including their visual charm, their patina of age, and their small scale, make neighbourhood walks even more enjoyable.

The mews are characteristically cobbled with bumpy granite stone bricks.

 

Most mews buildings have been converted to housing, which began after the First World War when more housing was needed. Train and car use became widespread making the mews redundant and comfortable family living space the order of the day.

 

Mews still make a significant contribution to the historic and architectural character of these wonderful conservation areas.

 

Christ Church lies at the centre of the conservation areas and brings community spirit and inclusivity. Local residents are welcomed to the many events including student, mother and baby meetups and Christmas celebrations.

 

Thomas’s Kensington’s three school sites also contribute a vibrant community spirit supporting young families locally.

 

 

This area has an outstanding array of heritage homes and buildings. 

 

Kensington Court area grew as the result of the extraordinary change in taste that overtook London in the 1870s and 1880s whereby regular Italianate stucco terraces were succeeded by tall gabled red brick houses and mansion flats.

The Queen Anne Revival style prevalent here can be seen in all its guises locally, including fanciful crow-stepped and curving Dutch gables; leaded and copper light window glazing in mock-Tudor surrounds and plentiful red brick.

 

Georgian houses, Victorian villas and Victorian terraces are prevalent in the De Vere Conservation Area bordering Kensington Court. Another important and attractive feature of these conservation areas are the original Victorian streetlights, in lantern style, which luminate the streets and add to the nostalgic charm of the neighbourhood.

 

 

Even though the park is a short distance away, residents enjoy pretty plant life on their doorsteps. Local streets are lined with a verdant mix of mature trees and plants which add to the area’s natural allure. Blossom in spring, and the evolving red and yellow leaves of autumn. 

 

Plentiful trees planted in local front gardens make a significant contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area. The front gardens of Victoria Road and Launceston Place in particular are home to some beautiful Magnolia and Cherry trees that make the street come alive with their white and pink shades of blossom each spring. 

 

 

Privacy is at the top of the list for many home-owners and home buyers here. This is a low key, discreet enclave, making it ideal for higher-profile residents who wish to live in relative anonymity. The configuration of the streets and cul-de-sacs restricts cars and deter through-traffic.

 

Larger homes and town houses are rarely transacted in the De Vere Conservation area, and when it does happen it is normally off-market sales which prevail.

 

With local neighbours including the US Deputy Ambassador, the level of security on nearby streets such as Cottesmore Gardens is another big draw for those seeking to live in a safer neighbourhood.

 

Although located only moments from Kensington High Street and Kensington Palace, this characterful area offers families a vibrant city lifestyle set in the style of a peaceful English backwater. 

 

Often described as a village with an impermeable, secluded character, it is an area loved by locals and highly sought after today. It definitely qualifies as one of the best places to live in London for families.

 

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