Kensington
Carmel Court
Carmel Court was built on land which in the 18th century was part of the lands of Campden House, owned by the Lechmere family. In 1722 a bricklayer named John Jones bought land in the area and started house-building. Lord Lechmere objected to him using a private lane to move building materials and their dispute ended in a brawl of workers and Jones was hauled off to Newgate Prison. Jones unsuccessfully tried to bribe the constable who had witnessed the brawl to give evidence for him at trial. He died later in the year before the case was settled. His widow Rebecca and his nephew John Price inherited his estate. Jones had begun building four houses in Duke's Lane, which they finished. Rebecca Jones and John Price built Carmel Court as a passage between Holland Street and Duke's Lane, with a house on the east side which was later demolished.
