Airlie Gardens is named after the 5th Earl of Airlie (1826-1881), who lived on nearby Campden Hill at Holly Lodge.
Holly Lodge - sometimes called Airlie Lodge - was the house where Lord Macaulay spent the last years of his life. It later became part of Queen Elizabeth College.
William Cooke was a Paddington builder who built Airlie Gardens in 1878 on the land of Elm Lodge. That year the Grand Junction Water Works Company surrendered the lease of the lodge. Some of its extensive grounds became the communal gardens for the new houses of Airlie Gardens.
