Local Information

Glamorous and colourful Chelsea, home to the prosperous and the cosmopolitan, has excellent Georgian and early Victorian properties, imposing red-brick mansion blocks and picturesque cottages and artists studios.

Chelsea

Chelsea has a glamorous and colourful history. In the sixteenth century it was a royal residence, in the nineteenth a haven for writers, artists and intellectuals (Turner, Whistler, Rossetti, Carlyle). It swung in the sixties, pogoed in the seventies, and inflicted Sloane Rangers on the unsuspecting eighties. These days it still attracts its fair share of celebrities and glitterati, but its quieter and more sedate than in former times: for the most part the painters and punks have been replaced by the prosperous and the professional.

Chelsea has outstanding and beautifully maintained period properties-most are Georgian and early Victorian- laid out in grand squares and along elegant tree-lined streets. The main thoroughfares also have imposing red brick mansion blocks and new developments of luxury apartments and houses. Leading off the larger roads are picturesque lanes and mews with charming cottages and artists studios. Prices are top-of -the-market throughout the area, with some of the most expensive and sought after properties located along the riverfront -Cheyne Walk is here, home in the nineteenth century to a whole host of top-flight writers and artists-George Eliot, Algernon Swinburne, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Carlyle, Turner, Meredith, Henry James and Oscar Wilde.

The Kings Road, Chelsea's main thoroughfare for shopping, posing, and general swanning about has an extensive collection of designer boutiques, stylish restaurants, and more run-of-the -mill high street chain stores. Sloane Square to the North has Peter Jones, a venerable institution rather than a mere department store, which is housed in a beautiful 1930's building. The Square is also home to The Royal Court theatre, a cutting edge establishment which premieres the work of provocative young writers.

Green space is provided by Chelsea Physic Garden and Ranelagh Gardens. Further afield there's Kensington Gardens to the north and Battersea Park across the river to the South. The nearest tubes are at Sloane Square (District, Circle lines) and South Kensington (Circle, District, Piccadilly).

Knightsbridge

SW3 extends northwards from Chelsea into Knightsbridge to include Brompton Square and the Egerton/Ovington areas. The former has tall early nineteenth century houses arranged in terraces around a central garden. These Grade II listed properties are very expensive and attract a lot of attention when they come on the market. The latter, named after the network of streets bearing their name, have tall stuccoed properties interspersed with mansion blocks and attractive cottages and mews.

Links

A really useful guide to Chelsea and Kensington
A budget guide for travellers created by a marketing student, this site provides information on places to stay, sights to see, pubs and restaurants, as well as useful hints for those visiting the area

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council
The official Borough site with information on business, local services, and the main tourist attractions