Portobello Road Market | This Is London Town | Abbey Court's Tourist Guide

Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road, W11, Tel: 020 7375 0441, Website: www.portobelloroad.co.uk, Tube: Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill Gate,
Still the biggest market in London (indeed probably the world) with more than one and a half thousand stall holders and a number of enclosed arcades. The market is primarily associated with the antiques trade, but is also a great place to find almost anything, particularly clothes and second-hand records. Portobello Road Market is one of the most famous markets in the world and is internationally recognised for its second-hand and antique sections. Statistically it features in the top ten rankings as the most visited tourist site in London. 'Portobello Road - street where the riches of ages are sold'. are the words David Tomlinson sang in the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks - and the description suits this market completely. It is regularly the focus of press and media attention and mostly remembered from the Disney film "Bed knobs and Broomsticks" and more recently the film "Notting Hill". Its history and culture span approximately 300 years of existence.

The Portobello Road Market at the weekend is the reason why most people visit Notting Hill. Generally, the top end near Trellick Tower is where to find the best bric-a-braq; clothes and food are in the middle section; while antiques and collectibles are at the southern end, a short walk from Notting Hill Station. During the week the area is more peaceful and most of the 'non-antique' shops you see in the panoramas are open normal hours.
Most of the action takes place from 8.30am on Saturday and by mid-afternoon a fair number of traders will have called it a day and headed for home after a successful day's trading. However, during the week there's still a fair bit of activity, particularly in the surrounding arcades. The nearest underground station is Notting Hill Gate which is on the Central, Circle and District lines. Ladbroke Grove which is on the Hammersmith and City Line is also fairly near to Portobello Road. Buses 7, 12, 23, 27, 28, 31, 52, 70 & 328 all stop close to Portobello Road.

For more information visit the market's official website (see above) which has a wealth of information on traders here, many of whom have signed up to a code of practice put together by the Portobello Antique dealers association (PADA). This sets out how traders should conduct their business, which can only be applauded as a benefit to potential customers. If you approach the market from Ladbroke Grove tube on a weekend - follow the crowd! They will lead you over the road and down Thorpe Close. It is a narrow lane with stalls either side, so hold on to your bag and enjoy the atmosphere! There always seems to be a stall pumping out good tunes (if you are lucky!) and the stalls mainly have young fashion designers selling their take on the seasons latest. This is the best place to come if you are street savvy and stylish - you will find clothes that are gorgeous and unique! In addition, try www.portobelloonline.com which carries lots of good local information too.
History
Portobello Road is very much a construct of the Victorian era. Before about 1850, it was little more than a country lane connecting Portobello Farm with Kensal Green in the north and what is today Notting Hill in the south. Much of it consisted of hayfields, orchards and other open land. The road ultimately took form piecemeal in the second half of the nineteenth century, nestling between the large new residential developments of Paddington and Notting Hill. Portobello Road's name derives from a popular victory during the War of Jenkins' Ear, when, in 1739, Admiral Edward Vernon captured the Spanish silver exporting town of what was then Puerto Bello in New Granada, (now known as Portobelo in modern-day Panama). Several commemorative names resulted from Vernon's victory, one of them being Portobello Farm in this area of London and, in turn, the lane leading to it which later became known as Portobello Road. Its shops and markets thrived on serving the wealthy inhabitants of the elegant crescents and terraces that sprang up around it, and its working class residents found employment in the immediate vicinity as construction workers, domestic servants, coachmen, messengers, tradesmen and costermongers. After the Hammersmith and City Railway line was completed in 1864, and Ladbroke Grove station opened, the northern end of Portobello Road was also developed, and the last of the open fields disappeared under brick and concrete.