Golborne Road, W10

Until the middle of the nineteenth century Golborne Road was no more than a country footpath crossing the fields of Portobello Farm. But late in the 1860s, the road was widened, shops were built and the road was extended over the railway.

It was planted with trees and named Britannia Road. Later the trees were cut down and the street was called Golbourne and later Golborne Road.

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the area was one of the most overcrowded and poverty-stricken in London.

The thoroughfare was extensively bombed during the Second World War, after which the Victorian-era slums were cleared to make way for the Trellick Estate, the Swinbrook Estate and Wornington Estates. These soon housed immigrant arrivals from the Caribbean.

Stella McCartney moved into a chapel on Golborne Road next to a curry house in 2002, heralding its arrival as a fashionable destination. Now going the way of upmarket Portobello Road (which intersects it), gastropubs have swallowed up the local hostelries.

At the north of the road is Meanwhile Gardens, a community park, which sits in the shadow of Erno Goldfinger’s 98-metre high Grade II listed Trellick Tower. The road starts in the north with launderettes and 1960s architecture but, as you cross south over the bridge, Golborne Road becomes a Victorian-era street.

Golborne Road market operates six days a week – its opening times are the same as for Portobello Road. During the week the market offers mainly fruit, vegetables, takeaway food, and household goods. On Friday and Saturday the market really comes alive with a busy second hand and bric-a-brac section. Golborne Road market has its own quirky ambiance distinct to that of nearby Portobello, with an eclectic mix of international food stalls and local services.

Golborne Road these days also serves as the hub of thriving Portuguese and North African communities.





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