This is a pre World War II map showing part of West Kensington, north of Talgarth Road and west of North End Road.
In February 1944 it sustained heavy bomb damage. After the war the patch of land marked as tennis courts was given to Fulham Council to lay out and use as a memorial garden. The donor was Robert Gunter, hence Gunterstone Road. His great grandfather, James Gunter, was a confectioner of Gunter’s Tea Shop. Over three generations in the first half of the 19th century the Gunters had built up a significant property portfolio in Kensington and it seems to me they wouldn’t have missed this small triangle of land rather unfashionably west of their main holdings.
Today Gwendwr Gardens continues to honour the memory of those killed in the 1944 air raids in the spirit Robert Gunter intended. It is a quiet spot for reflection and the small sunken garden with a central pool is especially secluded for such a busy urban area. If Margravine Gardens is too hectic for you this is the place to be. It does not appeal to the students at Hammersmith and Fulham College and dogs are not allowed.
I think today is my first visit. When I moved into my house in 1984 these gardens were somewhat neglected and only as recently as 2019 the Friends of Gwendwr Gardens was founded to “influence and enhance the upkeep and use of this small park”. As property prices have gone up residents are richer and more aware of precious open spaces (Margravine Gardens, Frank Banfield Park and Furnivall Gardens for example) and prepared to cherish them. A jolly good thing.
I have wondered often at the precise mapping of where the bombs fell during the blitz. The Luftwaffe bombed London for 55 nights in a row and my Father was a young Inspector in the Met Police. Meanwhile my Mother and older siblings, both under 3, took refuge with her parents in Westerham, from where they could see the German aircraft passing overhead en route London. We have little concept of what these people went through.