Kensal Town is a district of London. It is located at the boundary of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, at grid reference TQ243821, though the name is generally little-used, with most considering it a part of North Kensington. It is included in the W postcode area and was first recorded in 1876 as Kensal New Town. This name had been used since the 1840s to distinguish the area south of the Harrow Road where new housing was largely occupied by Irish immigrants. By the late 1800s the area had deteriorated into a slum, though much of these were cleared and replaced with council housing during the mid 20th century.