Plaque: Kiln + Hippodrome
This kiln is a reminder of the 19th century when potteries and brickfields were established here amid some of the poorest housing conditions in London; it is one of the few examples of a bottle kiln left in London. the name of the mews behind is the only surviving evidence of the Hippodrome Race Course which stretched around Notting Hill in the mid-19th century.
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Site: Kiln + Hippodrome (1 memorial)
W11, Walmer Road
London is built of clay bricks, made from the clay soil on which London is built. Highbury Wildlife Garden has a map showing the extent of the clay under this part of England. So wherever some development was taking place brick 'factories' would be set up where the clay was near the surface. The clay was dug out and shaped into bricks which were laid out to dry and then fired in a kiln. On London Remembers we already have references to the Somers Town brick kilns and Kiln Lane in Highgate. But this is the first surviving kiln that we have seen in London. Londonist have a good post on London bricks.
