
Chelsea Farm was established on the northern banks of the Thames on land previously open to common pasturage after the annual harvest.
Chelsea Farm was constructed in the 17th century and was used for market gardening, supplying central London.
The Earl of Huntingdon, in the middle of the eighteenth century, rebuilt Chelsea Farm as a house rather than a farm. It became the residence of the Countess of Huntington, a pious Methodist. Chelsea Farm was bought in 1778 by Thomas Dawson, who was created Viscount Cremorne in 1785. Cremorne House was built along with Ashburnham House and Ashburnham Cottage.
By the early 1800s the grounds extended north from the river Thames up to the
King’s Road. The estate was famous for its elegant gardens, laid out by Nathaniel Richmond. After Lady Cremorne’s death (his second wife, who was the grand-daughter of William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania) there were no direct male heirs.
In 1825 the ‘Lammas’ rights of common grazing were abolished and in 1831 it was sold to Charles Random who established a ’National Sporting Club’, called the Stadium, in the grounds for ’the cultivation of skilful and manly exercise’ which included shooting, sailing, bathing, archery and fencing. The name lives on in
Stadium Street. The venture failed and he was forced to su
rrender the property to his creditors.
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY |
 
Peter H Davies Added: 17 Jun 2021 09:33 GMT | Ethelburga Estate The Ethelburga Estate - named after Ethelburga Road - was an LCC development dating between 1963�’65. According to the Wikipedia, it has a "pleasant knitting together of a series of internal squares". I have to add that it’s extremely dull :)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Added: 1 May 2021 16:46 GMT | Cheyne Place, SW3 Frances Faviell, author of the Blitz memoir, "A Chelsea Concerto", lived at 33, Cheyne Place, which was destroyed by a bomb. She survived, with her husband and unborn baby.
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Joyce Taylor Added: 5 Apr 2021 21:05 GMT | Lavender Road, SW11 MyFather and Grand father lived at 100 Lavender Road many years .I was born here.
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Former Philbeach Gardens Resident Added: 14 Jul 2021 00:44 GMT | Philbeach Gardens Resident (Al Stewart) Al Stewart, who had huts in the 70s with the sings ’Year of the Cat’ and ’On The Borders’, lived in Philbeach Gdns for a while and referenced Earl’s Court in a couple of his songs.
I lived in Philbeach Gardens from a child until my late teens. For a few years, on one evening in the midst of Summer, you could hear Al Stewart songs ringing out across Philbeach Gardens, particularly from his album ’Time Passages". I don’t think Al was living there at the time but perhaps he came back to see some pals. Or perhaps the broadcasters were just his fans,like me.
Either way, it was a wonderful treat to hear!
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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT |
 
Loraine Brocklehurst Added: 24 May 2023 14:00 GMT | Holcombe Road, N17 I lived at 23Holcombe Rd. with my parents, Grandfather , Aunt and Uncle in 1954. My Aunt and Uncle lived there until it was demolished. I’m not sure what year that was as we emigrated to Canada.
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Jen Williams Added: 20 May 2023 17:27 GMT | Corfield Street, E2 My mother was born in 193 Corfield Street in 1920.Her father was a policeman.
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sofia Added: 19 May 2023 08:57 GMT | 43 MELLITUS STREET 43 MELLITUS STREET
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Added: 17 May 2023 11:50 GMT | Milson Road (1908 - 1954) My grandparents and great grandparents and great great grandparents the Manley family lived at 33 Milson Road from 1908 to 1935. My grandad was born at 33 Milson Road. His parents George and Grace had all four of their chidren there. When his father Edward died his mother moved to 67 Milson in 1935 Road and lived there until 1954 (records found so far, it may be longer). Before that they lived in the Porten Road. I wonder if there is anyone that used to know them? My grandad was Charles ’Ted’ Manley, his parents were called George and Grace and George’s parents were called Edward and Bessie. George worked in a garage and Edward was a hairdresser.
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Added: 16 Apr 2023 15:55 GMT | Rendlesham Road, E5 I lived at 14 Rendlesham Road in the 1940s and 50s. The house belonged to my grandfather James Grosvenor who bought it in the 1920s for £200.I had a brother who lived in property until 1956 when he married. Local families were the paisleys, the Jenners and the family of Christopher Gable.
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Sandra Field Added: 15 Apr 2023 16:15 GMT | Removal Order Removal order from Shoreditch to Holborn, Jane Emma Hall, Single, 21 Pregnant. Born about 21 years since in Masons place in the parish of St Lukes.
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Sue Germain Added: 10 Apr 2023 08:35 GMT | Southwood Road, SE9 My great great grandfather lived in Time Villa, Southwood Rd around 1901. He owned several coffee houses in Whitechapel and in South London, including New Time Coffee House so either his house was named after the coffee house or vice versa.
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David Gleeson Added: 7 Apr 2023 22:19 GMT | MBE from Campbell Bunk (1897 - 1971) Walter Smith born at 43 Campbell Bunk was awarded the MBE in january honours list in 1971. A local councillor for services to the public.
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Chelsea Farm Chelsea Farm was established on the northern banks of the Thames on land previously open to common pasturage after the annual harvest. Cremorne Gardens Cremorne Gardens, with a vestige existing today, was in its prime between 1846 and 1877. Lots Road Power Station Lots Road Power Station was a coal (and later oil-fired then gas-fired) power station, which supplied electricity to the London Underground system. Sands End Sands End was a close knit working class community. Cheyne Walk, SW10 Cheyne Walk is one of the streets of London in the SW10 postal area. Edith Grove, SW10 Edith Grove was named after local developer Captain Robert Gunter’s daughter, Edith. Gunter Grove, SW10 Gunter Grove is named for the famous West End confectioners, the Gunter Brothers. Kings Road, SW10 Kings Road stretches from the fashionable SW3 end into the SW10 area. Lots Road, SW10 Lots Road, older than the surrounding streets, was once Pooles Lane which was a track leading to Chelsea Farm. Spencer Street, SW11 Spencer Street became Church Road in 1869, and later Battersea Church Road in 1937. 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.
 |  |  The Dancing Platform at Cremorne Gardens (1864)
In the 17th century, Chelsea Farm was formed and the area was used for market gardening plots, supplying central London.
In 1778, Lord Cremorne bought Chelsea Farm and Cremorne House was built.
In 1830 Charles Random de Berenger, a colourful character implicated in financial fraud during the Napoleonic War, purchased Cremorne House. He was a keen sportsman and opened a sports club know as Cremorne Stadium for ‘skilful and manly exercise’ including shooting, sailing, archery and fencing.
In 1846, De Berenger’s Cremorne Stadium was transformed into a pleasure garden which became a popular and noisy place of entertainment. The entertainment included a diverse range of activities including concerts, fireworks, balloon ascents, galas and theatre.
Credit: Phoebus LevinTUM image id: 1526047056Licence: |  |  |
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In the neighbourhood...
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The Dancing Platform at Cremorne Gardens (1864)
In the 17th century, Chelsea Farm was formed and the area was used for market gardening plots, supplying central London.
In 1778, Lord Cremorne bought Chelsea Farm and Cremorne House was built.
In 1830 Charles Random de Berenger, a colourful character implicated in financial fraud during the Napoleonic War, purchased Cremorne House. He was a keen sportsman and opened a sports club know as Cremorne Stadium for ‘skilful and manly exercise’ including shooting, sailing, archery and fencing.
In 1846, De Berenger’s Cremorne Stadium was transformed into a pleasure garden which became a popular and noisy place of entertainment. The entertainment included a diverse range of activities including concerts, fireworks, balloon ascents, galas and theatre.
Credit: Phoebus LevinLicence: 



