Details of Property:
The Portobello Market website [visit
link] tells us:
"Portobello Market in West London is one of the
most famous street markets in the world. It is a populart destination for
Londoners and tourists alike.
Portobello Road goes straight through the heart of
Notting Hill, the trendy area of London made famous by the film. Indeed, so
famous is the film Notting Hill that I find scarcely a week goes by
without someone or other asking me about the various set locations: the
blue door, the travel bookshop, the garden fence and so
on.
So why do they ask me? Well, because I work on the
market - so now you know that the information here is straight from the
'orses mouf, as the cockneys say - actually I'm really quite posh, but I
didn't want to dispell your image of what a market trader is
like!
Portobello Market takes up most of
what is actually more properly called Portobello Road, it stretches for around
two miles, although on a crowded saturday afternoon it takes quite a while to
walk from end to end."The Notting Hill website
[visit link] tells
us:
"Portobello Road
Market in Notting Hill (located on Portobello Road itself) is unique, vibrant
and the hub of Notting Hill's community and its close neighbouring districts.
The market's distinctive feel owes something, not only to the buildings and
street-scape but also to the shops lining the road-side and of course the wide
variety of communities and individuals who choose to frequent the area. All of
these elements combine to give Portobello Market (sometimes called Notting Hill
Market) the international reputation it deserves, which in turn adds to its
overwhelming commercial success today.
Portobello Road Market is divided into three main
sections which enables the market to have a broad appeal to a wide ranging
group of people.
- The first part, best described if you are entering
from the south side i.e. Notting Hill Gate will introduce you to a magical
world full of antiques and collectable items. Here, it is possible to
stumble upona huge number of treasures from days gone by. To name but a
few, you can find stalls that are specilized in jewellery, furniture and
first edition books.
- After
this first section of the market comes to an end you might fancy a little
something to nibble on in preparation for the third and last part of Portobello
market. Specializing in food you’ll be able to find some amazing local food, as
well as global classics such as Paella, Churros, Crepes, Sandwiches, Falafel and
lots more prepared and un-prepared food products.
- Last but by no
means least is the third section of Notting Hill market where anybody that has a
great sense of style and a passion for fashion will surely love. The stalls are
packed full of new trendy and innovative designs as well as second hand clothing
and accessories making it possible to create the ultimate outfit during one
single shopping spree.
But where is Notting Hill and Portobello Road
Market?
Notting Hill is located on the North West side of Hyde Park
and Kensington Gardens and is easily reachable by tube. The best tube stations
to travel to are Notting Hill Gate on Central Line, District Line and Circle
Line or Ladbroke Grove on Hammersmith & City Line, these are located at the
top and bottom sides of the market which make these stations most suitable when
visiting the Notting Hill market.
History
of Portobello Road
Portobello Road
(previously thought to have been called Green Lanes) appears to have been born
from a small footpath that linked Notting Hill Gate to an area two miles North
West of Notting Hill calledKensal Green. The exact date the footpath was created
is likely to remain unknown (possibly around the 1400's) but it became a much
more popular thoroughfare with the advent of Porto Bello Farm, built half way
down the lane around 1740. The farm itself was named so to commemorate Admiral
Vernon capturing the coastal city of Puerto Bello, Panama in 1739 (a town
favoured by the Spanish for Silver and other treasure trading) and to follow
suit the footpath itself was renamed Porto Bello Lane which in turn became
Portobello Road during the 1850's as roads, homes and businesses were developed
along its route.
Portobello Road
Market itself started life in the late 1860's, early 1870's when many houses on
the road were still under construction. Market traders were primarily selling
food (known locally as "costermongers") and were being driven by the ever
expanding neighbourhood, inturn attracting many other traders to start selling
medicines and general "bric-a-brac" goods. Side shows and street perfomers were
also reported to have been getting in on the act setting up opposite the food
stalls themselves. Up until the end the of 1920's traders were only operating on
Saturday's, mainly due to the restrictions levied upon them by the local
council, but after a lengthy battle they finally managed to approve opening on
many other days and the market flourished.
By the end of
the Second World War, around 1945, many "Rag and Bone" men started setting up
stalls and selling second hand household items and antiques. The men were renown
for selling high quality items for low prices and word started to spread, which
in turn lead to more knowledgable buyers moving in to make a profit from the
deals. This kick-started the Antiques section of the market postioned near the
top end of Portobello Road between Lonsdale Road & Chepstow Villas (towards
Notting Hill Gate). Then 10-15 years later, during the late 1960's fashion
traders gradually started to appear and Portobello Road
The main and by
far the busiest market day for Portobello Road is Saturday, however the full
Portobello Market opening times are:
Mon-Wed & Fri: 8:00am-
6.30pm
Thu is a half day closing at 1.00pm
Sat 8:00am- 6:30pm
Portobello Road
Facts:
In 1739 Admiral Vernon captured the
city of Puerto Bello in the
Caribbean and Portobello Road was named as a tribute.
Portobello Road
is famous for its Notting Hill Market (started around 1860).
The Road is host
to the first UK electric cinema which opened it doors first in
1910.
There are as
many shops as market stalls.
The Road has many music festivals not just the
Notting Hill
Carnival."
Board link:Wikipedia