The Other Side of Notting Hill From Wartime to the Westway

Notting Hill has inspired a large number of books and films over the years and it has often made national news, not always for the right reasons. It’s always been an area of contrasts between rich and poor, which has undergone almost constant change since the current urban landscape was developed from farmland in the mid-nineteenth century. This book records the memories of people who lived in working-class Notting Hill in their own words, before huge change took place in the 1960s, including the mass demolition of slums, the construction of the Westway, the growth of the Notting Hill carnival and the area’s embrace of the swinging 60s. It records everyday urban working-class life as it was, which in many respects is almost unrecognisable today, and it also records how people began to be affected by the changes that were starting to take place.

Roger Rogowski has a long-standing interest in social and local history, and has authored articles and acted as an advisor on a number of projects, including television programmes on social history. He spent the first 13 years of his life in the area, and runs the local history Facebook group with more than 4,600 members.