Frestonia is a former, self-declared republic in Notting Hill, London, and unless you’re a micronation geek, there’s no real reason for you to have heard of it.
Have you heard of the British Punk band, The Clash? Well, some of the material for the Combat Rock album was recorded at The People’s Hall, which was in what was known as Frestonia and is the only building from that era still in existence.
What was the Republic of Frestonia?
In the early 1970s, the derelict Victorian houses on Freston Road and Bramley Road were broken into by squatters. They set up electricity and water supplies, and they made it their home and called it Frestonia.
After a while, they faced eviction from the council, so they decided to declare themselves an independent nation.
They declared independence on October 31st, 1977.
They issued their own postal stamps. Tourists could come and visit, getting their passports stamped in the process. They even published their own newspaper. You can see some of these details on the Frestonia dot org website (I’m not linking it as it’s only http), and the video embedded on the page gives you a great opportunity to see how it looked with former Frestonians talking about their experiences.
Over a period of time, people left the area, and the remaining residents no longer felt it was possible to keep the values as they once had, and Frestonia fell into decline.
Where was the Independent Republic of Frestonia?
Frestonia was a 1.8-acre triangle of land formed by Freston Road, Bramley Road and Shalfleet Drive, which at the time belonged to the London Borough of Hammersmith and was part of Kensal Green (W10) and Notting Hill (W11).
How to get to the former Republic of Frestonia
The best option is to take the Underground and get off at Latimer Road. On exiting the Underground Station, turn immediately to the left and go under the railway bridge. This is Bramley Road. Here is the map showing the location of the Republic of Frestonia:
I backpacked it last year, but missed some important photos, and the inspiration was missing.
With time at my disposal, I breakfasted on poached eggs with a mint tea at the Rosemary Cafe and Juicery on Finchley Road, very close to the Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage hostel:
I then took the Tube to Latimer Road:
From the Latimer Road tube station, it’s just a short walk to what was the Self-Declared Republic of Frestonia.
Backpacking Frestonia:
The Former Republic of Frestonia is a micronation that is bizarre in the extreme. Other unrecognised, semi-autonomous, partially recognised states that I have visited include the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, Freetow Christiania, Transnistria and Uzupis.
Upon arrival, I made a beeline for the Frestons Cafe on Nicholas Road:
It was a shame that the internet wasn’t working, as it was a top spot for some blogging.
The People’s Hall: The Clash recorded some of Combat Rock here:
See also: Album covers shot in London
