Kensington Living
Phillimore Gardens
Phillimore Gardens is an extremely attractive tree-lined street with a large three and four-storey Victorian houses on either side. It is considered one of the best streets in the area.
The facades of the houses are a mixture of brick and stucco. Some of the houses have small but delightful front gardens. Some have terraces with attractive displays of flowers in the summer.
The grandest houses are in the northern part of the street. Those on the west side have lovely views over Holland Park.
Some of the buildings at the south end of the street contain flats.
The road, which is on a gentle slope, slightly curves near the northern end and at this point there is a particularly imposing house with three large bay windows.
Phillimore Gardens was built as part of the development of the Phillimore Estate. It runs from north to south between Duchess of Bedford Walk and Kensington High Street.
Nos. 4-20 which run from Phillimore Walk to Essex Villas, on the west side of the road, were built in 1863 by William Henry Cullingford, of Pembridge Villas. From there up to Duchess of Bedford Walk, houses were built on a more individual basis. Charles Frederick Phelps built No. 24 in 1860, Joseph Gordon Davis, who was the principal builder in Essex Villas, appears to have been involved in the construction of Nos. 26-36.
On the west side of Phillimore Gardens it was William Henry Cullingford again who built most of the southern stretch of houses. Only Nos. 9-17 (odd) remain. Davis was a party to all the other building agreements and so must either have been the builder or have sub contracted the work.
