Kensington Gore grew out of King’s Gore - a gore is a narrow, triangular piece of land.
The home of the Albert Hall, Kensington Gore was never part of Kensington but instead the hamlet of Knightsbridge. The area is named after the Gore estate which occupied the site until it was developed by Victorian planners in the mid 19th century. The street replaced part of Kensington Road, connecting what would otherwise be two separate streets.
Gore House was the residence of political reformer William Wilberforce between 1808 and 1821. On the advice of Prince Albert, Gore House and its grounds were bought by the Exhibition’s Royal Commission to create the cultural quarter known as Albertopolis. In 1871, the Royal Albert Hall was completed on the site of the former house.
The creation of the London boroughs in 1900 caused many boundary changes. The border between Knightsbridge and Kensington in the Exhibition Road area was made more logical. As the Westminster/Kensington and Chelsea border, this boundary now runs along the centre of Brompton Road - it didn’t before.
Kensington Palace itself was never part of Kensington but Knightsbridge instead. This was also changed in 1900 along with the borders of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Part of Hyde Park such as the Albert Memorial were allocated to Kensington Gardens. The part of the Gardens lying to the east of the Long Water was assigned to Hyde Park.
The subsequent Royal Borough of Kensington (and Chelsea) has inherited the 1900 change which moved the Palace from Knightsbridge to Kensington. It shouldn’t historically be a royal borough since it didn’t include Kensington Palace.
