The roads known as Holland Park consist of three main branches.
There are the North and South sections running from West to East (with Holland Park Mews in between) and the West section running, North to South, from Holland Park Avenue into Abbotsbury Road.
In 1859 Lord Holland entered into an agreement with William and Francis Radford to build on land between Holland Park and Holland Park Avenue. They were experienced builders who had most recently built in the Pembridge Gardens and Pembridge Square areas.
The Radfords constructed a system of three linked roads. The outer roads are Holland Park and the middle road is Holland Park Mews. In the outer roads they built a series of detached houses. These houses are considered among the most exclusive in London. They are mainly detached double-fronted stuccoed houses with 4 storeys and a basement, and with very decorative cast-iron and glass entrance canopies. The buildings were constructed around 1860-1880. Each house has a frontage of about 45 feet. The houses have three main storeys, plus basements and attics. The central entrances have porches supported by Roman Doric columns. On either side there are canted bays which go up to second floor level where they are topped with balustrades. The attic floors sits behind an ornamental entablature in stucco with a modillion cornice and dentils. In the late 19th century, iron and glass entrance canopies were added to many of the houses.
Most of the properties are still privately owned although there are some embassies. Many of the buildings have been converted into flats, which have particularly large rooms, ideal for entertaining on an ambassadorial scale.
The location is particularly convenient for the shops in Holland Park Avenue and also for Holland Park itself which is within a few minutes walking distance.
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