Holland Park Living
Creation of the Norland Estate
The Norland Estate is 52 acres just above Holland Park Avenue, from the present Holland Road in the west to Portland Road and Pottery Lane in the east.
A Westminster brewer named Thomas Greene bought the land in the early 18th century. It had a large house already called “Norlands” near today’s Norland Square. In 1740 Greene died and his grandson, Edward Burnaby Greene, inherited it. Although he inherited a considerable fortune apart from this property, his lavish lifestyle soon landed him deep in debt. In 1761 he let the house and it was used as a military academy for many years.
Greene died in 1788 and in 1792 Benjamin Vulliamy, a Pall Mall watchmaker, bought the house and the surrounding land and moved into it. The original Norland House burnt down in 1825, and the family offered to sell the estate to the local authority for use as a lunatic asylum. But the offer was turned down and the family continued to own the estate until 1839.
