The Hippodrome: Notting Hill's Forgotten Racecourse

The vision

In 1837 the entrepreneur John Whyte leased 140 acres of land from James Weller Ladbroke, the owner of the Ladbroke estate. Whyte's plan was bold. He would enclose the slopes of Notting Hill and the meadows west of Westbourne Grove with a seven-foot high wooden palisade and create a racecourse with a banked spectator hill in the centre. The hill itself, where St John's Church now stands, would give a panoramic view of the entire course. The Hippodrome would offer society a stylish day at the races without the long journey to Epsom or Ascot.

The course opened on 3 June 1837, just two weeks before the death of King William IV. Early reports were promising. The Times praised the layout. Stylish carriages came up from central London. Whyte invested heavily in stables, grandstands and infrastructure.

The problems

The venture ran into trouble almost immediately. Three problems combined to destroy it.

The first was the soil. The heavy clay of Notting Hill, which had built the area's brick-making industry, was disastrous for horses. After rain, the ground became waterlogged and treacherous. Horses slipped, races had to be cancelled, and several animals were injured. The clay simply could not support a successful racecourse, especially one expected to operate year-round. The same clay that was profitable for brick kilns was ruinous for galloping.

The second was the right of way. A public footpath ran across the racecourse, and the working-class residents of nearby Notting Dale, particularly the Potteries and Piggeries inhabitants, refused to give up their traditional access. They walked across the course during race meetings, fighting Whyte's attempts to eject them. Disturbances were frequent. The press described the locals as "dirty and dissolute vagabonds" but the law was clear. The footpath could not simply be closed.

The third was the location itself. Notting Hill in the 1830s was still semi-rural, but it was already starting to feel like the edge of expanding London rather than open country. The fashionable racing crowd preferred the genuine countryside of Epsom or Ascot. The Hippodrome felt neither one thing nor the other. Too suburban for serious racing, too inconvenient for a casual day out.

The collapse

By 1839 Whyte had reduced the Hippodrome to a smaller course on the western side of his land, abandoning the original ambitious layout. Even this scaled-back version could not be made to work. Race meetings were cancelled. Investors lost confidence. By 1841 the venture had collapsed entirely. Whyte gave up the lease and the Hippodrome closed.

James Weller Ladbroke now had 140 acres of land that had been enclosed, partially landscaped, and left empty. Conditions for housing development had returned to favour by then. The 1825 financial crisis that had stalled the original Ladbroke estate plans had passed. London was expanding rapidly. The land was now ready for the development that Allason had originally planned in 1823.

What the Hippodrome left behind

The most striking legacy is geographical. The crescent-shaped roads that wrap around Notting Hill, including Blenheim Crescent, Elgin Crescent, Stanley Crescent, Cornwall Crescent and Lansdowne Crescent, were built on the lines of the old Hippodrome racecourse track. The curved layout of the streets follows the curves of the racecourse so closely that you can still trace the original course on a modern map.

The central spectator hill became the site of St John's Church, completed in 1845. The church now sits at the highest point of Notting Hill, where Whyte's spectators once watched the racing below. The location was chosen partly because Allason's master plan called for a focal point at the top of the hill, and the cleared Hippodrome site offered exactly the prominent position needed.

The architect Thomas Allom, working for the developer Charles Henry Blake, completed the layout of the curved streets through the 1850s and 1860s. The grand stuccoed terraces of Stanley Crescent, Stanley Gardens and Kensington Park Gardens followed the line of the old track. By the 1870s the Hippodrome had been entirely built over.

One charming detail. The Hippodrome's banked layout meant that the streets built over its track curve gently rather than running in a strict grid. The result is a streetscape with a rhythm and flow that few other parts of London possess. The crescents that buyers find so attractive today are an accidental gift of a failed nineteenth-century racecourse.

How to see it today

If you stand at the top of Notting Hill, by St John's Church on Lansdowne Crescent, you are standing where Whyte's spectator hill once was. Looking down, the curving streets of Lansdowne Crescent, Stanley Crescent and Elgin Crescent fall away below you in a pattern that traces the inside of the old racecourse. Walk down any of these crescents and follow the curve. You are walking along the line of the racecourse.

The Ladbroke Association keeps detailed maps showing the overlay of the original 1837 Hippodrome on the modern street pattern. The match is remarkably close. The dream of a London racecourse failed in 1841, but its bones are still under your feet today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Notting Hill Hippodrome?

The Hippodrome was a racecourse that operated on the slopes of Notting Hill between 1837 and 1841. It was created by entrepreneur John Whyte, who leased 140 acres of land from James Weller Ladbroke and enclosed it with a seven-foot wooden palisade. The course was intended to rival Epsom and Ascot but failed within four years.

Why did the Hippodrome racecourse fail?

Three reasons combined. The heavy clay soil of Notting Hill became waterlogged and treacherous for horses. A public right of way ran across the course, and local residents refused to give up access. And the location, on the suburban edge of London, was unattractive to the fashionable racing crowd who preferred the genuine countryside of Epsom or Ascot. The course closed in 1841.

Where did the Notting Hill Hippodrome stand?

The Hippodrome covered 140 acres on the slopes and meadows around what is now the upper Ladbroke estate. The central spectator hill stood where St John's Church on Lansdowne Crescent now stands. The racecourse track ran around the hill in a curve that followed the natural contours of the land. Modern crescents including Blenheim Crescent, Elgin Crescent, Stanley Crescent, Cornwall Crescent and Lansdowne Crescent were later built on the line of the old track.

Why are Notting Hill streets curved?

The crescent-shaped streets of the Ladbroke estate follow the lines of the old Hippodrome racecourse track. After the racecourse closed in 1841, James Weller Ladbroke's architect Thomas Allason and later Thomas Allom designed the new housing development to reuse the cleared and partially landscaped land. The curved streets that buyers find attractive today are an accidental legacy of the failed racecourse.

Who was John Whyte?

John Whyte was the entrepreneur who created the Notting Hill Hippodrome in 1837. He leased 140 acres from James Weller Ladbroke, enclosed the land with a wooden palisade, and built grandstands and stables. After the racecourse failed in 1841, Whyte gave up the lease and the venture collapsed. Little is known about his subsequent career.

Walk the Hippodrome racecourse and Carnival history

See where the racecourse once stood, walk the curves of streets that still trace its layout, and discover the Caribbean community who later transformed the area. Our special Whose Hill walk is part of the Notting Hill Carnival 60 celebrations.

Special Carnival 60 offer: £10 per person

More info: nottinghillcarnival60.co.uk/walks

Book here: Eventbrite

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