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Year 10
Edexcel

The influence of Caribbean cultures on Notting Hill

I can describe how the area of Notting Hill came to reflect the culture of the migrants who moved there following WW2.

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New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

The influence of Caribbean cultures on Notting Hill

I can describe how the area of Notting Hill came to reflect the culture of the migrants who moved there following WW2.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Caribbean migrants to the area brought distinct island cultures with them leading to many community meeting places.
  2. Migrant-run shops, markets, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, shebeens and entertainment venues became common in the area.
  3. Clubs promoting ska and reggae music became increasingly popular and attracted visitors from outside the area.
  4. All Saints Road developed as a centre for migrant culture, as did the Portobello Road Market.
  5. Mutual self-help organisations such as 'pardner' schemes allowed Caribbean migrants to access credit.

Common misconception

The discrimination and exclusion from opportunities that migrants sometimes face is just something these communities have to accept.

In fact, migrants set up self-help schemes and organise their own resources to ensure discrimination and lack of government help do not hold back their community and especially their children's access to opportunities.

Keywords

  • Shebeen - a music and dance party organised by Caribbean residents of Notting Hill in response to a lack of migrant-friendly leisure entertainment, often held in basements or other migrant-owned venues

  • Ska - a style of music originating in Jamaica in the 1950s, making use of horns and trumpets alongside other instruments

  • Reggae - a style of music that developed from ska in the 1960s, differing from it in its focus on the use of keyboards

  • Self-help - the use of personal or collective effort to achieve something without relying on the government

  • 'pardner' schemes - these allowed Caribbean migrants to make use of credit by paying into a communal fund, as many similar organisations did not accept migrant contributions

Show students images and film clips of Portobello Road and All Saints Road in the 'Swinging Sixties' to get across some of the energy and diversity that made Notting Hill so important in British culture.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does HMOs stand for?
Correct Answer: Houses of Multiple Occupation, Houses of multiple occupation, houses of multiple occupation, Houses Of Multiple Occupation
Q2.
Which keyword describes the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people?
Correct Answer: discrimination, Discrimination
Q3.
Why was poverty a problem in London after World War Two (WW2)?
There was a significant flu pandemic at the end of the war.
Correct answer: The Blitz had caused a lot of damage.
The government was unwilling to provide support for repairs.
There was a surplus of workers now the war was over.
Correct answer: There was a lack of money and resources.
Q4.
Put the following events in chronological order.
1 - Soldiers from the British Empire served in Britain's armed forces in WW2.
2 - WW2 ended and there was a shortage of workers in Britain.
3 - the British government passed the 1948 Nationality Act.
4 - The ‘Windrush generation' first arrived in Britain.
5 - Caribbean migrants first settled in Notting Hill.
6 - Further Caribbean migrants joined family and friends in Notting Hill.
Q5.
Why were many Caribbean migrants forced to live in overcrowded conditions?
Correct answer: Few landlords would rent to black people so there was a shortage of housing.
Everyone wanted to live close to the trendy shops on All Saints Road.
Correct answer: Housing had been destroyed in the Blitz so there were few houses available.
Correct answer: Some landlords took advantage of the possibility of HMOs.
Q6.
Who set up the Notting Hill Housing Trust in 1963?
Harold Macmillan
Correct answer: Bruce Kenrick
Peter Rachman

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes a style of music that developed from ska in the 1960s, differing from it in its focus on the use of keyboards?
Correct Answer: reggae
Q2.
Which word describes the use of personal or collective effort to achieve something without relying on the government?
Correct Answer: self-help
Q3.
Which of the following are examples of Caribbean foods which became popular in Notting Hill in the 1960s?
Correct answer: roti
scotch eggs
English breakfast
Correct answer: jerk chicken and rice
trifle
Q4.
Complete the sentence: Migrant-run shops, markets, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, and entertainment venues became common in Notting Hill.
Correct Answer: shebeens, shebeen
Q5.
Why was the Notting Hill Carnival an important development in the 1960s?
It showcased a mix of Caribbean and British food, costumes and music.
Correct answer: It showcased Caribbean food, costumes and music to new audiences.
It showcased British food, costumes and music to new audiences.
Q6.
What were the names of two clubs popular with Caribbean migrants in the 1960s in Notting Hill?
Correct answer: The Mangrove
Correct answer: The Jazz Club
Correct answer: Calypso Bar
Portobello Road Market

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