The sub-surface Circle and District line platforms were opened on 1 October 1868 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR) as part of its extension from Paddington to Gloucester Road. The Central line platforms were opened on 30 July 1900 by the Central London Railway (CLR). Entrances to the two sets of platforms were originally via separate station buildings on opposite sides of the road and access to the CLR platforms was originally via lifts. The station name Notting Hill Gate had potential for confusion with the MR station to the north in Ladbroke Grove which was known as "Notting Hill" when opened in 1864, and renamed "Notting Hill & Ladbroke Grove" in 1880. This latter station eventually, in 1919, dropped its reference to Notting Hill, becoming "Ladbroke Grove (North Kensington)" in 1919 and, simply, "Ladbroke Grove" in 1938.
The station was redecorated in 2010-11, with new ceramic tiling throughout the subway entrances, deep-level passageways and Central line tube platforms as well as a modified ticket hall layout. During the redecoration works a section of lift passageways from the original 1900 CLR station, abandoned during the 1959 reconstruction, was rediscovered and found to contain a series of original posters. The westbound Central line platform is located above the eastbound platform because when the CLR was built it did not want to tunnel under buildings, and the street above was not wide enough for the two platforms to be side-by-side. The station has wi-fi, payphones and escalators.
Connections: Circle and District Lines. London Buses routes 27, 28, 31, 52, 70, 94, 148, 328, 390 and 452 and night routes N28, N31 and N207 serve the station and Oxford Tube X90 coaches.