[citation needed] By the early 21st century, after decades of gentrification, Notting Hill had gained a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area,[4] known for attractive terraces of large Victorian townhouses and high-end shopping and restaurants (particularly around Westbourne Grove and Clarendon Cross).

[6] The origin of the name "Notting Hill" is uncertain[7] though an early version appears in the Patent Rolls of 1356 as Knottynghull,[8][9] while an 1878 text, Old and New London, reports that the name derives from a manor in Kensington called "Knotting-Bernes", "Knutting-Barnes", or "Nutting-barns",[3] and goes on to quote from a court record during Henry VIII's reign that "the manor called Notingbarons, alias Kensington, in the parish of Paddington, was held of the Abbot of Westminster."

Working with the architect and surveyor Thomas Allason, Ladbroke began to lay out streets and houses, with a view to turning the area into a fashionable suburb of the capital (although the development did not get seriously under way until the 1840s).

This marks the genesis of his most enduring idea – the creation of large private communal gardens, originally known as "pleasure grounds", or "paddocks", enclosed by terraces and/or crescents of houses.

At the summit of hill stands the elegant St John's church, built in 1845 in the early English style, and which formed the centrepiece of the Ladbroke Estate development.

[18] In 1862 Thomas Hardy left Dorchester for London to work with architect Arthur Blomfield; during this period he lived in Westbourne Park Villas.

He immersed himself in the city's literary and cultural life, studying art, visiting the National Gallery, attending the theatre and writing prose and poetry.

As middle-class households ceased to employ servants, the large Notting Hill houses lost their market and were increasingly split into multiple occupation.

In the postwar period the name Notting Hill evoked a down-at-heel area of cheap lodgings, epitomised by the racketeering landlord Peter Rachman and the murders committed by John Christie in 10 Rillington Place, since demolished.

[20] Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, including many "Teddy Boys", were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents.

[21] Nos 1–9 Colville Gardens, now known as Pinehurst Court, had become so run down by 1969 that its owner, Robert Gubay of Cledro Developments, described conditions in the buildings as "truly terrible".

[23] By the 1980s, single-occupation houses began to return to favour with families who could afford to occupy them, and because of the open spaces and stylish architecture Notting Hill is today one of London's most desirable areas.

[27] Reflecting the increasing demise of one of the most culturally vibrant parts of central London, the 2011 Census showed that in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in which Notting Hill is situated, the number of Black or Black British and White Irish residents, two of the traditionally largest ethnic minority groups in Notting Hill, declined by 46 and 28 percent respectively in ten years.

The postcode "W11", centred on the former[29] site of the Post Office in Westbourne Grove, near the junction with Denbigh Road, is the one most closely associated with Notting Hill.

It covers the central part of Notting Hill, and is situated between the A402 (Holland Park Avenue) to the south and the Westway to the north.

Locally the areas of Portobello, North Kensington, Kensal are referred to as Ladbroke Grove, the main thoroughfare and tube station at the heart of Notting Hill.

[34] David Cameron, former leader of the Conservative Party, is known as part of the "Notting Hill Set", though he states he lives in North Kensington.

[24] There are five tube stations in the area: Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park, Latimer Road, Notting Hill Gate and Kensal Green.

The gate was removed in the 19th century and the high road was widened and straightened in the 1960s, involving the demolition of many buildings, the linking of two separate tube stations and the construction of two tower blocks.

The area is served by Kensal Green station (Underground and Overground) North Kensington is the key neighbourhood of Notting Hill.

The area's main transport hub, Ladbroke Grove tube station, was called Notting Hill from its opening in 1864 until 1919.

[citation needed] However, North Kensington retains high levels of poverty and unemployment and a high-proportion of social housing for rent.

Waves of immigration to the area have occurred for at least a century, including, but certainly not limited to, people of Irish, Jewish, Caribbean, Spanish, and Moroccan extraction.

[40] Two notable participants in this riot were Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon, who later formed the seminal London punk band The Clash.

The area's newer, wealthy residents are satirised in Rachel Johnson's novel Notting Hell (2006) set in grand houses surrounding a fictional communal garden.

A film set in the same streets but showing a different story of the area is Pressure (1976), by Horace Ové, examining the experience of those of Caribbean descent in 1970s Notting Hill including police brutality and discrimination.

Notting Hill is often referred to as 'the most Instagrammable district in London' due to the abundance of photogenic restaurants and pastel-coloured houses.

These lines run through Notting Hill predominantly on a viaduct, calling at Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road respectively, before reaching Shepherds Bush to the west.

[52][53][54] Among the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and the then-Mayor Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail's overall cost; in response, Kensington & Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the Borough.