Literary Tour of Portobello

Preview Steps

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  Step 1: Begin your walk in Pembridge Square.

• Step 2: This tour is curated by KCAW partner Tom Vague, a music journalist, exhibitions curator and community project coordinator with strong links to the borough.

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  Step 3: The local literary classic, ‘The Napoleon of Notting Hill’ by GK Chesterton, was published in 1904, set 80 years in the future in 1984.

• Step 4: The story was inspired by Chesterton’s Tory anarchist revelation that a row of shops in North Kensington should be defended from civic interference.

• Step 5: The Lord High Provost of Notting Hill takes King Auberon seriously and fights to save ‘Pump Street’ (a literary Chesterton property near Pembridge Square) from demolition.

• Step 6: After a battle at the beginning of Portobello Road, Notting Hill wins the war but is changed for the worse and loses the final battle to the rest of London.

Download the app to get all the steps for this walk.