Ladbroke Crescent belongs to the third and final great period of building on the Ladbroke estate and the houses were constructed in the 1860s.
Development of this area had suddenly become more attractive with the opening in 1864 of the Hammersmith and City line of the Metropolitan Railway with a station on Ladbroke Grove (the station was originally called ‘Notting Hill’), and the introduction in the early 1860s of cheap workmen’s fares.
By that time the Ladbroke family had disposed of the land, either by selling the freehold or by giving 99-year peppercorn rents. The land on which Ladbroke Crescent lies was in the hands of the speculator and ex-Calcutta merchant Charles Blake, who had already developed successfully several other parts of the Ladbroke estate. In 1864, he granted a lease of the whole crescent to G. and T. Goodwin, builders. The normal pattern was no doubt followed, according to which the builder had to build houses meeting certain standards; he was then given a 99-year lease of the property which he could let, thus recovering his costs, but he had had to pay a ground rent to the landowner (typically £10 in Ladbroke Crescent). In early 1865, the Goodwins began advertising their new houses in the Times:
NOTTING-HILL. Genteel superior residences to be LET, in Ladbroke-crescent, 10 and 13 rooms, bathroom, plate glass, gas and every convenience. Rent 50 guineas and £75. Apply to G. and T. Goodwin, 4 Ladbroke-crescent, Ladbroke-road, close to Notting Hill Railway Station.
It is not clear how successful they were in attracting the sort of purchaser they had in mind. Some middle class families with usually one servant moved in. In 1900, for instance, the occupant of No. 4 was advertising for a ‘parlour maid, experienced, trustworthy, middle-aged, in a gentleman’s family. Good references.’ But the census indicates that most of the houses were soon in multi-occupation, or occupied by people letting rooms. In 1866, for instance, ‘furnished apartments, with or without board, for a lady and gentleman or two gentlemen’ were being advertised at No. 6, offering ‘every home comfort, with perfect cleanliness, may be relied on. An extra bedroom if required.’ And a bit later, the occupant of No. 20 was advertising a ‘parlour, with large bedroom upstairs, at 25s per week. Good cooking and attendance.’
In 1895, 7 Ladbroke Crescent harboured the Committee Rooms (office) of the North Kensington Conservative Association. During the first half of the 20th century, the area went steadily downhill, becoming more slummy and probably reaching its nadir in the 1950s, at the time of the Notting Hill Race Riots, when a 21-year old inhabitant of the Crescent was convicted of carrying offensive weapons, to whit a spanner and file, in Lancaster Road during the riots. Since then, however, the area has been steadily improving.
Ladbroke Crescent belongs to the third and final great period of building on the Ladbroke estate and the houses were constructed in the 1860s. 
