Notting Hill & Kensal Green

These districts are part of the Royal Borough of Kensington, but are sparsely populated, compared to the rest of the Borough, and so are presented separately from that district.

A break in the general wealth of the west end occurs in Notting Hill, where many of the casual workers who labour in the many breweries and markets of the West End reside. The district is relatively undeveloped, with small houses and inns populating the commons. A decent sized house here costs around £75-100. The lions share of housing is along Harrow Road, north of the Great Western Railway, which cuts through the district. Notting Hill, while well-stocked with poor, see much less crime due to the more rural nature of the district.

Further west, just on the borders of the city, is Kensal Green, an area of farms tucked between the Great Western and the London & Birmingham Railroad lines; the Wilesden Junction, the main junction into London for the Western rail lines is in Kensal Green and connects with Paddington, Euston, and Kensington stations. The rural character of the place is rapidly becoming a meeting place for inventors to show off and race their steam-powered automotives. The area is famed for Wormwood Scrubs. The area bears mentioning for the park's popularity with aeronauts, who launch their balloons and airships from the Scrubs.

Wormwood Scrubs

The Scrubs is the site of the fledgling aeronaut industry. There are ten large hangers for the construction and storage of the flying ships. The land is owned by the St. Quintin family and the agent is Capt. Charles Chatty, a former India officer turned solicitor. Capt. Chatty is the man the characters will have to deal with, should they choose to rent a hangar. He is brusque and elitist, the kind of snobbery that can only derive from someone starting in a low station in life and clawing their way up.

The Scrubs sees quite a bit of activity on the days of airship launches. The launches are difficult and dangerous – a false wind can wreck the deceptively fragile craft by smashing them against the hangar doors or into the ground during takeoff. Even the smallest require a large number of men – 20-100, depending on the size of the craft – to wrestle it out onto the green for launch.

There are two hangers dedicated to the new Royal Airships of H.M. Army. These vessels are known, rather unimaginatively as AS.1 & AS. 2. They are semi-rigid craft, with a solid keel that supports the fabric of the envelope and provides a mooring point for the ballonets inside, where the lifting gas is stored. The craft only carry a handful of men and some small amounts of equipment, but larger airships are constantly being built.

Prosperity
Moderate

Dominant Social Class
Middle-class

Crime
Low

Police Presence
Some

Dominant Profession or Industry
Brewing, railway, servant work

Type

District