Colet Gardens predated most of the urban development of the area, being previously known as Red Cow Lane. It ran through what was previously market gardens.
Colet Gardens got its name from the Renaissance scholar and Dean of St Paul’s, John Colet, who had founded St Paul’s school in 1509. St Paul’s School occupied local land and buildings in the immediate area.
Colet House, on the road, was built in 1885 and became a workplace of many artists and then a dance school. Its address changed to Talgarth Road in the 1960s when that road became part of the A4.
The line of Talgarth Road took over the southern section of Colet Gardens in 1961 and became a main road of London. The northern section of Colet Gardens remained suburban.
