[ 700AD-1800 | 1801-1830 | 1830s-1950 | 1950-1970 | 1970s-present ]
700AD-1800
The Saxons arrive
The first settlers of Notting Hill are thought to have been Saxons at around the turn of the 8th Century. There is much discussion as to where they came from (probably around Holland and Germany), but what is known is that “the sons of Cynesige founded Cheniston (which became Kensington), while the sons of Cnotta settled on the hill rising above. This is probably the origin of the name “Notting Hill” and references to “Knottynghull” are found in the Patent Rolls (royal correspondence) of 1356. It is likely that the “ing” part of the name was from the Saxon for a small settlement.
Other suggestions are that the name derives from a manor called, variously, Knotting-Bernes, Mnutting-Barnes, Notting-Barns or Notting Barons. To this day there is a road in the area called Notting Barn. In the 19th Century an early urban myth spread that the name was associated with nut trees.
Until the 1800’s, the settlement remained little more than a hamlet. There were gravel pits at the top of what is now Church Street, but the area was little more than a stop off point on the road out of London, the road itself having originally been built by the Romans, which itself followed an earlier trackway along the route of Bayswater.
There were a number of inns and an even larger number of highwaymen. Arguably the latter have today been replaced by overpriced “specialist” stores of the Harry Enfield “I saw you coming” variety.
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