| South Kensington | |
|---|---|
.jpg) V&A Museum, South Kensington | |
  South Kensington Location withinGreater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ265785 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | SW7 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°29′28″N0°10′37″W / 51.4912°N 0.1769°W /51.4912; -0.1769 | |
South Kensington is a district at the West End ofCentral London in theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scatteredMiddlesex village ofBrompton.[1] Its name was supplanted with the advent of the railways in the late 19th century and the opening (and shutting) and naming of local tube stations.[2] Many visitors flock to museums and cultural landmarks such as theNatural History Museum, theScience Museum, theVictoria and Albert Museum, andImperial College London. Adjacent affluent centres such asKnightsbridge,Chelsea, andKensington, are considered some of the most exclusive real estate in the world.
Following the 1851Great Exhibition inHyde Park, an 87-acre (35 ha) area, west of what is now Exhibition Road, was purchased by the commissioners of the exhibition, in order to create a base for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, leading to the foundation of theRoyal Albert Hall, three museums, theRoyal School of Mines later a world renowned technological university, theRoyal College of Music and theRoyal College of Organists there. The market gardens of the rural area began to make way for a series of hospitals, such as theBrompton Hospital and theNew Cancer Hospital along nearby Fulham Road.[3] Adjacent landowners began to develop the land in the 1860s as a result of the transport hub and the general urbanisation boom west of London, and led to the eventual absorption of Brompton and its station into Kensington. It was sealed by the arrival of theMetropolitan andDistrict Railways at Brompton, but for public relations reasons, it was re-named "South Kensington" in 1868. To facilitate public access to the museums, the railway company built a pedestrian tunnel directly from the station concourse to an exit halfway up Exhibition Road, next to the now defunct Royal Mail sorting office, to avoid crowds having to cross the Cromwell Road.
In 1906 the newGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway company opened theBrompton Road tube station in the vicinity, thus adding a link directly to the political, commercial and financial heart of the capital inWestminster, theWest End and theCity of London, but owing to under use, it was shut in 1934. During theSecond World War it was used by the26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade.[4]
Since theFirst World War it has become a cosmopolitan area attracting Belgian and French refugees, but also Poles during theSecond World War and after, as well as latterly Spanish, Italian, and American expatriates. Some residents also have a Middle Eastern origin. The French presence is emphasised by theLycée Français Charles de Gaulle, theFrench Institute, housing a theatre now used as the CinéLumière with nearby theAlliance française, as well as the Consulate General of France, not far from theFrench Embassy inKnightsbridge.[5] With a French bookshop and many international cafés in the area, it has been called "Paris's 21st arrondissement".[6]
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In April and May 1980 a group of sixIranian Arabs entered theIranian Embassy in South Kensington and took the staff, visitors and a diplomatic policeman hostage. There followed a six-day siege during which one of the hostages was killed. The BritishSAS finally stormed the building in a 17-minute operation, bringing out the hostages and the one surviving gunman, who was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison for his part in the offences.[7]
As is often the case in other areas of London, the boundaries for South Kensington are arbitrary and have altered with time. This is due in part to usage arising from the tube stops and other landmarks which developed across Brompton. A contemporary definition is the commercial area around theSouth Kensington tube station and the adjacent garden squares and streets (such asOnslow Square andThurloe Square, opposite theVictoria and Albert Museum). To the north is theKensington Gore, to the south the windingFulham Road and streets leading toSloane Square and to the west, the residential and hotel area ofGloucester Road. South Kensington station lies on the junction of several thoroughfares: principally theOld Brompton Road, Harrington Road and Pelham Street and a stone's throw from the arterialCromwell Road. It is furthermore criss-crossed by theExhibition Road and the statelyQueen's Gate andPrince Consort Road. Until road lay-out improvements in 2012, the area was afflicted with traffic congestion and likened to a series of traffic islands.[8]
Modern development of the area is the result of the creation of the temporaryAlbertopolis reached by Exhibition Road, whose terrain now includes theNatural History Museum, theGeological Museum, theScience Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum,London Oratory and since 1915, theLycée Français. Other local institutions include thePolish Institute and Sikorski Museum,Polish Hearth Club, LondonGoethe-Institut, theRoyal Albert Hall,Imperial College London, theRoyal Geographical Society, theRoyal College of Art, theRoyal College of Music and between 1903 and 1991, theRoyal College of Organists,West London Air Terminal, theIsmaili Centre, London and the late comer 1960sBaden-Powell House some of which are administratively within theCity of Westminster, but considered to be "within range of South Kensington". Although the SW7postcode mainly covers South Kensington, it goes intoKnightsbridge. The onlyRoyal Mail Post Office in South Kensington closed in 2019.
The first church to rise among the fields at Brompton was the socially notable, but widely considered architecturally ugly,Holy Trinity Brompton in 1829. It served a wide area from theKensington Canal in the west to the Kensington Turnpike in the north. The first incumbent, one Percival Frye, just happened to be the nephew of ArchdeaconAlfred Pott, vicar of the neighbouring Kensington parish.[1] It was followed by:
The area is the subject ofDonovan's song "Sunny South Kensington", about the area's reputation as the hip part of London in the 1960s.
Roman Polanski's filmRepulsion (1965) was partly filmed in South Kensington.
Morgan cars, a British family-owned hand built sportscar company, operates a main dealership out of Astwood Mews in South Kensington.
Christie's auction house had a second London salesroom in the Old Brompton Road, South Kensington from 1975, which primarily handled the middle market. Christie's permanently closed the South Kensington salesroom in July 2017 as part of their restructuring plans announced March 2017. The closure was due in part to a considerable decrease in sales between 2015 and 2016 in addition to the company expanding its online presence.[9][10]
Tim Waterstone opened his first eponymousWaterstones bookshop in 1982 in Old Brompton Road. It has given way to aLittle Waitrose.[11]
Caffè Nero also started life as a single coffee shop in Old Brompton Road, opened by Ian Semp in 1990. It was subsequently bought out and became a chain.[12]
Residents have included:
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