Kensington
St Albans Grove
St Albans Grove runs between Stanford Road and Victoria Road.
The northern side consists mainly of a large building for American students. The south side has large three-storey stuccoed houses (plus basements) and small front gardens. The houses are mainly semi-detached.
There is a neighbourhood pub at the western end of the road, a rather unusual Polish restaurant, and some other attractive, craftsmen-type shops.
St Albans Grove was part of the Vallotton Estate.
Edward William Burgess of Wardour Street, Soho was the builder of 4-11 St Albans Grove on the south side of St Albans Grove and 3-19 Cottesmore Gardens (which back on to them) on the north side of Cottesmore Gardens. He started work in 1851 and both rows were completed by 1856. The houses appear to be terraced but are in fact built in pairs quite close together. In 1855-6 he built Nos. 12 and 12a St Albans Grove as houses with shops, on the corner of St Albans Grove and Stanford Road.
At the east end, No. 3 St Albans Grove was built by Thomas Rider of Union Street, Southwark. This is a double fronted detached villa. Behind it No. 1 Cottesmore Gardens was built by Chesterman and Son to designs by the architect JF Bush. It was built in 1851 and enlarged in 1853.
On the north side of St Albans Grove, there were a variety of cottages which were replaced by houses and finally by a school.
