Elgin Crescent

79 Elgin Crescent, home of Sir Osbert Lancaster

Elgin Crescent is a street in Notting Hill, London, England.

It runs between Portobello Road in the west, crosses Ladbroke Grove and at its southern end joins Clarendon Road. The section between Portobello Road and Kensington Park Road is formed of shops, cafes and restaurants, whilst the remainder is residential.^[1]

The houses were built in the 1850s and 1860s, and most share communal gardens. Many are now listed buildings. East of Ladbroke Grove, it was originally called Elgin Road.^[1] It is named after the town of Elgin in Scotland.

Notable residents

• 60 – Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), First Prime Minister of India, lived there 1910–12
• 79 – Sir Osbert Lancaster (1908–1986), cartoonist, born there
• 86 – Sir Laurence Olivier (1907–1989), actor and director, lived there 1910–14^[2]
• 95 – Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand short-story writer^[3]
• 106 – John Alexander Fladgate (1809–1901), a port wine merchant, lived and died there
• 121 – Amy Clarke (1892–1980), mystical poet and writer, born there
• Boris Johnson, mayor of London (former resident)^[4]
• Rachel Johnson, journalist and author^[5]
• Sax Rohmer, author, creator of Dr Fu Manchu^[6]

References