Young Street, named after the developer of Kensington Square, was in use as a road by 1685.
Young Street ran perpendicular to Kensington Square, serving as the sole route from Kensington High Street until Derry Street opened in the 1730s. The area was divided into plots for sale or lease to developers, with Thomas Young retaining freehold of the western side north of number 16, likely erecting two houses by 1695.
Unlike Kensington Square, Young Street boasted a diverse social makeup. Courtiers of William III lived alongside tradesmen, shopkeepers and Huguenot refugees. However, little of this original character remains today.
Photographs from the 1860s show the street largely unchanged, but subsequent developments altered its appearance dramatically. The construction of Kensington Square Mansions in 1885 and a Post Office between the 1860s and 1890s significantly changed the streetscape. The Second World War’s bomb damage further transformed the area.
In 1890, John Barker and Company rebuilt numbers 19 and 21, creating two shops with an arched entrance leading to stables and workshops. Later, in 1968, a multi-storey car park replaced numbers 19-27.
Amidst the bustle of horse-drawn carriages, number 9 stands out. Rebuilt in 1905 in Arts and Crafts style, it housed a solicitor’s office above a ground-floor shop.