The Cherry Trees Residents’ Amenities Association

est. 1968

History

The association was created in 1968, at a time when most southbound traffic from Notting Hill Gate went down Palace Gardens Terrace and Vicarage Gate, when many houses were rather run down, and when the streets had a kerb-crawling problem.

Since then the CTRAA has helped turn the area into a quiet oasis between Notting Hill Gate and Kensington High Street – Kensington Church Street traffic excepted.

Then and now

Between 1900 and 1906 a photographer took pictures of our streets. In June 2012 the CTRAA’s web editor stood in the same spots. The houses in Brunswick Gardens and Palace Gardens Terrace haven’t always been white, and without cherry trees or parked cars the streets looked much wider.

Drag across each picture to compare the two years.

Brunswick Gardens

Brunswick Gardens in 1900
1900. The eastern side of Brunswick Gardens. Some houses were white, others red or yellow brick. With no cherry trees or cars, the street seems very wide.
Brunswick Gardens in 2012
2012. The same view 112 years later. All the houses are white, cherry trees have lined the street for generations, and parked cars on both sides make it feel narrow.

Lower Palace Gardens Terrace

Lower Palace Gardens Terrace in 1906
1906. At the end of the street stood the large St Paul's Church, bombed in the Second World War and later replaced by the nursing home. A policeman by the lamp post makes sure nobody disturbs the photographer.
Lower Palace Gardens Terrace in 2012
2012. Cherry trees and cars (and a builders' skip outside no. 42) transform the view, though the houses look much the same. With the nursing home demolished in December 2011, Hamilton House is suddenly visible; Vicarage House would later take its place.

Upper Vicarage Gate

Upper Vicarage Gate in 1906
1906. Inverness Gardens and upper Vicarage Gate seem very open; the trees in Inverness Gardens are still young. The red pillar box is already there, and on the corner a policeman watches the photographer.
Upper Vicarage Gate in 2012
2012. The garden trees have become enormous and, with the cherry trees, hide the houses of Inverness Gardens completely. The red pillar box is still there – the same one as in 1906.

The Kensington Church Street bend

The Kensington Church Street bend in 1904
1904. Looking down Kensington Church Street towards the bend: a policeman watches the photographer, and a crowded bus climbs the hill with a single horsepower.
The Kensington Church Street bend in 2012
2012. The policeman has gone, but the bus still climbs the hill, with rather more horsepower. The houses on the right survive; the rest have been replaced.

Lower Kensington Church Street

Lower Kensington Church Street in 1900
1900. Much of the eastern side is a building site: Maitland House and York House, from the 1760s, have just been demolished, to make way for Church Close, the Gas Light & Coke Co building and the new York House.
Lower Kensington Church Street in 2012
2012. On the left, the Gas Light & Coke Co building, now Mulberry’s headquarters. The houses between Duke Street and the church remain, though their shops have changed hands many times.

The Winchester Court corner

The Winchester Court corner in 1900
1900. Winchester Court is more than 30 years away. On the site stands a building from the 1850s, first a convent and later the Orphanage of St Vincent de Paul. This stretch of Kensington Church Street was once known as Love Lane.
The Winchester Court corner in 2012
2012. Winchester Court, built in 1935 and described at the time as “decidedly the most meritorious building to appear in this district for a long time”. At eight floors it was twice the height of its predecessor, and one of the tallest buildings in central Kensington.

The Cherry Tree, 1999–2006

From 1999 to 2006 the CTRAA sent members a printed newsletter, The Cherry Tree, two or three times a year. All sixteen issues are here.

  1. No. 1, 1999
    • No entry down Vicarage Gate
    • Cycle lane into PGT?
    • Good and bad parking
  2. No. 2, 1999
    • Barrier at the top of PGT
    • Farmers’ market already a success

    History: Cherry Trees area

  3. No. 1, 2000
    • The filming of 102 Dalmatians
    • No entry at top of Vicarage Gate

    History: St Paul’s Church

  4. No. 2, 2000
    • Will road user charge affect us?
    • Rubbish on pavement is illegal

    History: “Millionaires’ Row”

  5. No. 1, 2001
    • Nursing home is to be sold
    • First “puppy fund” party

    History: Church Street (1)

  6. No. 2, 2001
    • Summer and autumn parties
    • Nursing home now boarded up

    History: Church Street (2)

  7. No. 1, 2002
    • No change to carnival route
    • Texting in the 19th century

    History: Kensington Palace (1)

  8. No. 2, 2002
    • Welcome to our Jubilee Party
    • Agents fined for board fraud

    History: Kensington Palace (2)

  9. No. 3, 2002
    • Law to stop dog dirt?
    • 20mph limit next year?

    History: Kensington Palace (3)

  10. No. 1, 2003
    • Nursing home sold to developer
    • Second “puppy fund” party

    History: 18th-century road tolls

  11. No. 2, 2003
    • Fighting for the nursing home
    • First party in the vicar’s garden

    History: The big scientists

  12. No. 1, 2004
    • Nursing home decision delayed
    • Congestion charge here as well?

    History: The home of artists

  13. No. 2, 2004
    • RBKC rejects nursing home plan
    • The very first Christmas card

    History: Maria Callcott

  14. No. 1, 2005
    • Nursing home public hearing
    • CTRAA now has a website

    History: Max Beerbohm

  15. No. 1, 2006
    • Inspectorate “no” is appealed
    • Congestion charge comes 2007

    History: Bye, bye, Barkers

  16. No. 2, 2006
    • High Court decides in spring
    • Resident parking cost trebles

    History: Emily Shackleton