Development began at the east end of Tregunter Road in 1851 and was complete by 1866 at the west end.
This very fine street is characterised strongly by pairs of classically inspired gault brick villas that were built by different builders.
The villas are of high quality and of similar scale to nearby streets (i.e. three storeys over a basement).
Acfold Road, SW6 Acfold Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Ansdell Terrace, W8 Ansdell Terrace is a cul-de-sac off of Ansdell Street and was previously known as St Albans Road North.
Astwood Mews, SW7 Astwood Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Avalon Road, SW6 Avalon Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Bagleys Lane, SW6 Bagleys Lane is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Bina Gardens, SW5 Bina Gardens is one of the streets of London in the SW5 postal area. Bolney Gate, SW7 Bolney Gate is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Cranley Mews, SW7 Cranley Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Derry Street, W8 Derry Street formerly known as King Street and laid out in the mid-1730s. Edith Grove, SW10 Edith Grove is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Farnell Mews, SW5 Farnell Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW5 postal area. Fulham Road, SW10 Fulham Road is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Gloucester Road, SW7 Gloucester Road is a main street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Grenville Place, SW7 Grenville Place connects Cornwall Gardens and Launceston Place in the north with Cromwell Road in the south. Hesper Mews, SW5 Hesper Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW5 postal area. Ifield Road, SW10 Ifield Road is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Jay Mews, SW7 Jay Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Kensington Court Gardens Kensington Court Gardens is a late Victorian mansion block, completed in 1889, near to Kensington Palace and Gardens. Kings Road, SW10 Kings Road is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Kings Road, SW6 Kings Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Kynance Mews, SW7 Kynance Mews consists of 33 residential properties on a mews road which starts at Gloucester Road and ends in a cul-de-sac. Lamont Road, SW10 Lamont Road is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Lots Road, SW10 Lots Road, older than the surrounding streets, was once Pooles Lane which was a track leading to Chelsea Farm. Manson Mews, SW7 Manson Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Meldon Close, SW6 Meldon Close is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Michael Road, SW6 Michael Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Micheal Road, SW6 Micheal Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Osten Mews, SW7 Osten Mews is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Palace Gate, W8 Palace Gate was previously part of Gloucester Road and developed in the 1860s Park Walk, SW10 Park Walk is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Plaza, SW10 Plaza is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Priory Walk, SW10 Priory Walk and Milborne Grove both have development on one side of the road only and together they book-end Harley Gardens. Queens Gate, SW7 Queens Gate is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Redcliffe Gardens, SW10 Redcliffe Gardens began life as Walnut Tree Walk, a pathway running through nurseries and market gardens. Roland Way, SW7 Roland Way is one of the streets of London in the SW7 postal area. Rumbold Road, SW6 Rumbold Road is one of the streets of London in the SW6 postal area. Seymour Walk, SW10 Seymour Walk was almost entirely built between the 1790s-1820s in an area then known as Little Chelsea. Stanhope Gardens, SW7 Stanhope Gardens was built in the 1860s in developments following the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Boltons, SW10 The Boltons is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. The Little Boltons, SW10 The Little Boltons - originally called "The Grove" - connects Old Brompton Road with Tregunter Road. The Mansions, SW5 The Mansions is one of the streets of London in the SW5 postal area. The Plaza, SW10 The Plaza is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area.
Chelsea is an affluent area, bounded to the south by the River Thames.Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above Sloane Square tube station. The modern eastern boundary is Chelsea Bridge Road and the lower half of Sloane Street, including Sloane Square, along with parts of Belgravia. To the north and northwest, the area fades into Knightsbridge and South Kensington, but it is safe to say that the area north of
King’s Road as far northwest as
Fulham Road is part of Chelsea.
The word Chelsea originates from the Old English term for
chalk and
landing place on the river. The first record of the Manor of Chelsea precedes the Domesday Book and records the fact that Thurstan, governor of the King’s Palace during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042–1066), gave the land to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster. Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned the manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership. The modern-day Chelsea hosted the Synod of Chelsea in 787 AD.
Chelsea once had a reputation for the manufacture of Chelsea buns (made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar).
King Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536; Chelsea Manor Street is still extant. Two of King Henry’s wives, Catherine Parr and Anne of Cleves, lived in the Manor House; Princess Elizabeth – the future Queen Elizabeth I – resided there; and Thomas More lived more or less next door at Beaufort House. In 1609 James I established a theological college on the site of the future Chelsea Royal Hospital, which Charles II founded in 1682.
By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, and once described as ’a village of palaces’ – had a population of 3000. Even so, Chelsea remained rural and served London to the east as a market garden, a trade that continued until the 19th-century development boom which caused the final absorption of the district into the metropolis.
Chelsea shone, brightly but briefly, in the 1960s Swinging London period and the early 1970s. The Swinging Sixties was defined on
King’s Road, which runs the length of the area. The Western end of Chelsea featured boutiques Granny Takes a Trip and The Sweet Shop, the latter of which sold medieval silk velvet caftans, tabards and floor cushions, with many of the cultural cognoscenti of the time being customers, including Keith Richards, Twiggy and many others.
The exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices has historically resulted in the term Sloane Ranger to be used to describe its residents. From 2011, Channel 4 broadcast a reality television show called
Made in Chelsea, documenting the ’glitzy’ lives of several young people living in Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside of the United States, with 6.53% of Chelsea-residents being born in the United States.
Print-friendly version of this page