bottle kiln, walmer road, notting hill, london

tile kiln rebuilt in 1879 by charles adams, once one of many kilns built here to make bricks and tiles for local building throughout the c19. this area was known as the piggeries and potteries, and was a dangerous and insalubrious tract pitted with vast gaping trenches where the local clay seam had been dug out. these pits became filled with refuse and sewage, with the largest known as the ocean being just opposite this kiln, eventually filled by the council in 1892 to become avondale park. there was a workhouse nearby, and the local brickmakers were renowned for dog and cock fighting and bull baiting, with pigmen forming the area's elite, whereas nowadays even cottages go for seven figure sums.