Queen Adelaide was the consort of King William IV, whom he married in a vain attempt to provide an heir to the throne.
Eton College had owned the land hereabouts but, as late as 1811, there were still only six houses on their entire estate.
The first proposals to develop the estate were made in the early 1820s, encouraged by the building boom nearby, especially around Regent’s Park to the south.
On the advice of its London solicitor, Eton College appointed John Shaw, the developer of St John’s Wood, as surveyor and in 1826 obtained an Act to grant 99-year building leases. Shaw refrained from drawing up a scheme for the whole estate because the market for such projects had collapsed.
Throughout the 1830s Eton considered ambitious plans for the southern part of the estate- for a giant mausoleum at Primrose Hill, a cemetery full of classical buildings, and a botanical garden. But in 1842 the hill was acquired for public recreation.
John Shaw the younger (1803-70), who had succeeded his father as surveyor in 1832, insisted on linking the Eton estate with St John’s Wood. Early building was concentrated on Adelaide Road, which was driven through to Avenue Road and Finchley Road.
There was a separate Adelaide Road North which became part of Adelaide Road in 1861.
