Holland Park Living
Development of the Norland Estate
When the estate had become valuable development land, the Vulliamy family sold it in 1838 to William Kingdom a local speculator. But in 1839 he signed the agreement over to his solicitor, Charles Richardson.
Richardson then set about organising the development of the estate. The layout plan was designed by Robert Cantwell. He proposed Royal Crescent facing Holland Park Avenue. The striking idea of having the crescent bisected by a road running due north (St Ann’s Road) was due more to sewerage than artistic requirements. It was the route of the new sewer and had to be beside a road where it could be dug up.
The development was very speculative because it was a long way out of London. So Richardson tried to attract builders by commencing building work himself. The principal builder on the estate was Charles Stewart, a barrister and Member of Parliament. He took leases for 150 houses on the estate, mainly in Royal Crescent and St Anne’s villas.
But the Norland estate was not a success for Richardson. Richardson was having to pay out to build roads and other services without attracting takers for the building plots. He was not sufficiently well financed. Although he gained temporary relief from debt in 1844 by selling off 12 acres at the north end of the estate for use as a brick field, in 1854 he went bankrupt. He is next heard of in 1855 as a dealer in patent medicines on the Glasgow Stock Exchange.
The estate as a single unit was broken up between property speculators, builders and new residents.
