Hippodrome Mews, W11
Contemporary sketch of the 1830s-era Kensington Hippodrome
Credit: User unknown/public domain
Hippodrome Mews is a turning off Portland Road, commemorating a lost racecourse.

The mews derived its name from The Kensington Hippodrome, a Victorian racecourse that opened in 1837. The racecourse was initially successful and a fashionable attraction in the area, competing well against Epsom and Ascot. However, as it was built on Ladbroke lands, it was adjacent to the Potteries, one of London’s worst slums at the time. Disputes over footpaths and rights of way eventually led to the course’s closure in 1842.

Prior to a modernist transformation in the 1960s, Hippodrome Mews served as a stable for horses and staff accommodation for the larger houses located on Portland Road.

Today, the Hippodrome Race Course is only remembered by Hippodrome Mews and Hippodrome Place, which was the original site of the horse stables. However, the former mews has since been rebuilt and is now a private cul-de-sac.



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