The stitch was named after the Kensington School of Art Embroidery, now known as the Royal School of Needlework (London, England), who revived its use in the late nineteenth century.
The stitch is sometimes described as a form of long and short stitch. It is also known as solid embroidery.
In the USA, the term Kensington stitch is sometimes used to indicate the so-called crewel stitch, which is an irregular stem stitch used in nineteenth century crewel embroidery.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 3 June 2016)
GVE