The digital index of postings in Chelsea History and Studies
Roads, streets, terraces, places, gardens, courts, walks, squares, rows, mewses, gates, lanes, groves, avenues, etc
A
Anderson Street [1845- Most likely named after John Anderson, a trustee of James Colvill, whose nursery was the site of this street. ]
Ashburnham Road [So named from Ashburnham House, home of the 2nd Earl of Ashburnham, c. 1780, which stood here until c. 1880.]
Astell Street
B
Beaufort Street (including Beaufort Mansions) [1867- Beaufort House, demolished in 1737, formerly occupied the lower half of the street. The house had at one time been owned by Sir Thomas More.]
Bifron Street
Blacklands Terrace [1857- The area around Cadogan Square was known as Blacklands from at least the sixteenth century.]
Botanic Gardens
Bray Place [The Bray family was connected with the Manor of Chelsea for many years from the time of Henry VII.]
Britten Street [1874- A Mr. J. Britten was a trustee of St. Luke’s Church in 1828.]
Burnaby Street [1878- Edward Burnaby Greene, brother of Admiral Sir William Burnaby, lived at Ashburnham Cottage, which was near the site of the present street.]
Burnstall Street [1928- Mrs. Martha Bursnall was the founder of a charity in 1805 for the benefit of the poor and the charity schools.]
Burton Court [Sir Edmund Burton lived in Chelsea during the reign of Edward VI.]
Bury Walk [1812- Possibly so named because it led to the new burial ground 9now site of St. Luke’s Church.]
Bywater Street
C
Cadogan Gardens
Cadogan Gate
Cadogan Lane
Cadogan Pier
Cadogan Place
Cadogan Square [1877- On the Cadogan Estate. The Cadogan family own extensive properties in Chelsea. This also relates to the places so-named as Gardens, Gate, Lane, Pier, Place. Street and Terrace.]
Cadogan Street
Cadogan Terrace
Cale Street [1871- Judith Cale (died 1717) was a former benefactor of the parish of Chelsea.]
Callow Street
Carlyle Square [1872- Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), essayist and historian, was a resident of Chelsea, 1834-1881.]
Caversham Street [1866- William Cadogan, 1st Baron and Earl Cadogan was created Viscount Caversham in 1718.]
Chelsea Bridge
Chelsea Bridge Road
Chelsea Creek
Chelsea Embankment
Chelsea Harbour
Chelsea Manor Gardens
Chelsea Manor Street [1937- Close to the site of the former manor house.]
Chelsea Park Gardens
Chelsea Rectory
Chelsea Square
Cheltenham Terrace [c. 1848- Possibly chosen by the builder of St. Leonard’s Terrace nearby.]
Chesham Street [The Lowndes Family, who were the landowners, came from Chesham, Buckinghamshire.]
Cheyne Gardens
Cheyne Row- See: https://kulturapress.com/2024/10/05/church-of-the-holy-redeemer-and-upper-cheyne-row-disaster-14th-september-1940/
Cheyne Walk [The Cheyne family were lords of the manor of Chelsea, 1660-1712. Also applies to so-named places Gardens, Place and Row.]
Christchurch Street [1866- named after the nearby church.]
Clabon Mews
Clivedon Place [1890- Named after the Duke of Westminster’s residence near Maidenhead. Part of the Westminster Estate lies in Chelsea.]
Coulson Street
Cremorne Road [1878- Viscount Cremorne originally purchased the estate in 1778, At a later date Cremorne Gardens was a famous pleasure ground at Chelsea.]
Culford Gardens
-o-
The Chelsea Blitz: Chelsea at war between 1939 and 1945 by Tim Crook is coming soon with publication by Kultura Press in 2026.
The book will contain in narrative form all of the postings on Chelsea Blitz history posted and in continuing development in Chelsea History and Studies. Publication is by popular demand from people and online readers wanting to have a book form of this remarkable story of the people’s history of Chelsea during these dramatic years.
It is expected to be the most comprehensive history of Chelsea during the Second World War years to date.
The online postings will remain on open access though with all rights reserved.
-o-
D
Danvers Street [1696- [art of the site of Sir John Danvers’ (1588-1655) house and grounds.]
Dartrey Road [1878- mamed after Baron Dartrey, Viscount Cremorne.]
Denyer Street [1871- The Denyer family founded one of the Chelsea charities.]
Dilke Street [1875- probably named after Sir Charles Dilke, Bt. (1810-1869). His son, also Sir Charles Dilke, was M.P. for Chelsea from 1868-1886.]
Donne Place [1937- John Donne (1573-1631), poet and Dean of St, Paul’s, resided at
Danvers House for some time,]
Dovehouse Street [1939- Dove House Close is marked on Hamilton’s 1664 map of Chelsea. It was on the south side of King’s Road, close to Old Church Street.]
Draycott Avenue [1907- Blacklands House, formerly nearby, was leased by Sir Francis Shuckburgh
in the early nineteenth century, Draycott was the maiden name of his wife. The same applies to the associated locations Draycott Place and Draycott Terrace.]
Draycott Place
Draycott Terrace
Duke of York’s
E
Eaton Place [Named after the Duke of Westminster (1825-1899). He was born at Eaton
Hall, Cheshire. See also Eaton Place West and Eaton Terrace.]
Eaton Place West
Eaton Terrace
Edith Grove [1878- On the Gunter Estate. Edith was one of the three daughters of Colonel
Robert Gunter, the landowner. See also Edith Terrace.]
Edith Terrace
Ellis Street [On the Sloane Estate. Probably from Anne Ellis, wife of Lord Mendip, who became owner of part of the estate of her brother, Hans Stanley.]
Elm Park Park Gardens [1875- On part of the site of Chelsea Park. Relevant for other locations starting with ‘Elm Park.’]
Elm Park Lane
Elm Park Road
Elystan Place [1906- Elystan Glodrydd, founder of the fourth Royal Tribe of Wales, is said to be an early ancestor of Lord Cadogan. Origin also applies to ‘Elystan Street’.]
Elystan Street
Embankment Gardens
F
Fernshaw Road
First Street
Flood Street [1865- Luke Ihomas Flood was a benefactor of Chelsea Parish in the early
nineteenth century. Origin also applies to ‘Flood Walk’.]
Flood Walk
Franklin’s Row [1877)- From Thomas Franklin, an inhabitant of Chelsea in the seventeenth
century.]
Fulham Road
G
Gertrude Street
Gillroy Square
Glebe Place [1870- stands on part of the former glebe lands attached to Chelsea Rectory.]
Godfrey Street [A Mr. W . Godfrey was an extensive land-owner at Chelsea in the eighteenth century.]
Grove Buildings
Gunter Grove [1869- On the Gunter Estate, Robert Gunter, the famous Victorian pastry cook was
also the owner of the estate of which this road forms a part.]
H
Halsey Street
Hans Crescent
Hans Place
Hans Road [On the Sloane Estate. Named after Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). All locations starting with ‘Hans’ have this origin.]
Harriet Walk [1932- Harriet was the name of the first wife of William Lowndes (1807- 1864), the landowner. It was also the name of one of his sisters. Same origin applying to ‘Harriet Street’]
Hasker Street [The Rev. G.H. Hasker was a former landowner. c. 1845.]
Henniker Mews
Hobery Street
Holbein Place [1888- In honour of Hans Holbein. (1497-1543), the famous painter, who frequently visited Sir Thomas More’s house at Chelsea, His sketch of the family is well-known. Origin same for ‘Holbein Mews’.]
Hortensia Road
I
Ives Street
Ixworth Place
J
Jubilee Place [So named to commemorate the Jubilee of George III in 1810.]
Justice Walk [Said to be derived from John Gregory, J.P. who took regular walks in but a doubtful attribution. More likely to derive from the fact that a Magistrate lived in one of its houses.]
K
King’s Road [The section from Sloane Square to Old Church Street was Charles II’s
private road on the way to Hampton Court Palace. It remained a private road until 1830.]
L
Lacland Place
Lamont Road
Langton Street
Lawrence Street [Named after an old-established Chelsea family, whose monuments can
be seen in the Lawrence Chapel at the Old Church. Thomas Lawrence bought the old manor house in the 1580’s. The site is presumed to have been at the north end of Lawrence Street.]
Lennox Gardens [1877- On the Smith Charity Estates. Charles Henry, 6th Duke of Richmond and Lennox was a former trustee. Same origin for ‘Lennox Mews’.]
Lennox Mews
Limerston Street
Lincoln Street
Lower Sloane Street
Lots Road [1862- Retains in its name a memory of the ‘lots’ of ground belonging tothe manor, over which the parishioners had Lammas rights, that is, right of grazing at certain times of the year on lands which were otherwise individually owned.]
Lowndes Square [The Lowndes family of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, owned the land on which
the square and adjacent streets such as ‘Lowndes Street’, ‘Chesham Street’ and ‘Harriet Walk’ stand.]
Lowndes Street
Lucan Place
Luna Street
M
Makins Street
Mallord Street [1909- Joseph Mallord William Turner, (1775-1851), the painter, lived
at 119 Cheyne Walk for the last four years of his life.]
Manresa Road
Margaretta Terrace [William Cadogan, Ist Baron and Earl Cadogan (1672-1726) married Margaretta Cecilia Hunter.]
Markham Square
Markham Street [Pulham Markham Evans was the last owner of Box Farm, which was formerly on this site. The origin also applies to Markham Square.’]
Marlborough Street [Possibly from the 3rd Duke of Marlborough (1706-1758), who, at
one time, occupied a house in Chelsea.]
Meek Street
Milman’s Steet [1726- From Sir W . Milman (d.1713), who owned a house on or near the site
of the street.]
Milner Street [1875- The trustees of Mary Jane Milner owned a slip of land between Cheyne Walk and King’s Road.]
Moore Street
Moravian Place [1937- Adjacent to the Moravian burial ground, formerly attached to the
Moravian community founded at Chelsea in the 1750s by Count Zinzendorf.]
Mossop Street [1935- Commemorates both Henry Mossop, eighteenth century actor buried in
Chelsea Old Church and Charles Mossop, who represented Chelsea on the Metropolitan Asylums Board and was active in local politics.]
Mulberry Walk [1912- Chelsea Park, on the southern boundary of which the walk lies,
was the site of a silkworm farm experiment in the early eighteenth century, Iwo or three of the
mulberry trees planted then were still standing.]
N
Netherton Grove
O
Oakley Crescent
Oakley Street [William Cadogan was created Baron Cadogan of Oakley in 1718. Origin of name also applies to ‘Oakley Gardens’ and ‘Oakley Crescent.’
Old Church Street
Orford Street
Ormonde Gate [1906- Approximately on the site of Ormonde House.]
Ovington Street
P
Paradise Walk [Possibly named in derision, for, as late as 1906 it was described as an unsavoury slum.]
Park Walk [1866- Built on the western part of Chelsea Park.]
Paultons Square [1866- On the Sloane Estate. After Sir Hans Sloane’s death part of the
manor of Chelsea passed to his eldest daughter, the wife of George Stanley of Paultons,
Hampshire. Origin also applies to ‘Paultons Street.’]
Paultons Street
Pavilion Road [1870- From the name of an eighteenth- century house built b y Henry
Holland. The front is said to have been built as a model for the Brighton Pavilion, but the
design was not used. Origin also applies to ‘Pavilion Street.’]
Petyt Place
Petyward
Phene Street
Pond Place
Pont Street
Pont Street Mansions
R
Raasay Street
Radnor Walk
Ranelagh Gardens
Rawlings Street
Redesdale Street
Royal Avenue
Royal Hospital
Royal Hospital Road
Rysbrack Steet
S
St. Leonard’s Terrace
St. Loo Avenue
St. Luke’s Street
Seaton Street (adjoining Cremorne Road)
Shalcomb Street
Slaidburn Street
Sloane Avenue
Sloane Gardens
Sloane Square
Sloane Street
Sloane Terrace
Smith Street
Smith Terrace
South Parade
Sprimont Place
Stackhouse Street
Stadium Street
Stewart’s Grove
Swan House
Swan Walk
Sydney Street
Symons Street
T
Tadema Road
Tedworth Square
Tetcott Road
Tite Street
Town Hall
U
Upcerne Road
Upper Cheyne Row See: https://kulturapress.com/2024/10/05/church-of-the-holy-redeemer-and-upper-cheyne-row-disaster-14th-september-1940/
Uverdale Road
V
Vale, The
Vicat Street
W
Walpole Street
Walton Place
Walton Street
Wandon Road
Wellington Square
Westbourne Street
West Eaton Place
Whithead’s Grove
Whittaker Street
Woodfall Street
Chelsea Blitz time-line 1940 to 1945: incidents and casualties
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part One- Preparing for war. 1939 to 1940.
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part Two- First raids 28th August to 9th September 1940.
Chelsea Blitz 1940 to 1945. Part Three- 10th to 14th September 1940. More death and destruction.
Schools, Colleges, Polytechnics and Universities of Chelsea
Special buildings and houses
Fiction about Chelsea
Non fiction about Chelsea
Films and television programmes about Chelsea
Radio programmes about Chelsea
Stage drama about Chelsea
Poems about Chelsea
Songs about Chelsea
Maps of Chelsea
Shops, stores and businesses of Chelsea
Chelsea Chamber of Commerce
Isaac T. Lloyd Chemist and Pharmacist King’s Road Chelsea
Churches, synagogues, temples and mosques in Chelsea
Chelsea Old Church (All Saints)
Christ Church
St John’s
St James’
St Luke’s
Statues and monuments of Chelsea
Local government in Chelsea
Pubs and Inns of Chelsea
Sport, teams, baths, and playing grounds
MPs of Chelsea
Police stations of Chelsea
Ambulance and Fire Stations of Chelsea
Libraries of Chelsea
Manresa Road
Chelsea Old Town Hall
Theatres and cinemas of Chelsea
Special thanks to Karen White and Chris Pain whose families lived in Chelsea during World War Two and Malachy John McCauley, also brought up in Chelsea, who have very kindly encouraged and assisted my research. Special thanks to Marja Giejgo for editorial assistance. Research and archive facilities from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council library services, The Imperial War Museum and National Archives at Kew.
If you would like to protect the history and heritage of Chelsea do consider applying to be a member of The Chelsea Society which ‘was founded in 1927 to protect the interests of all who live and work here, and to preserve and enhance the unique character of Chelsea for the public benefit.‘
I am also a great believer in the importance of local libraries for preserving the memory of community and local history. Royal Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council library services were my refuge and temples of learning when I was brought up in Chelsea. They continue to provide outstanding lending and archive services, have been invaluable in my continuing research and writing about the people of Chelsea. I give tribute to all who work in them, use them and support them.
Congratulations to The Chelsea Citizen, a dynamic new hyper-local newspaper launching in the spring 2025. Founder & Editor Rob McGibbon, Chelsea resident for 30 years and 40 years a respected and campaigning journalist. This is a significant and important development in the history of newspapers and journalism in Chelsea. Whole-hearted support from Chelsea History and Studies. Sign up for the Chelsea Citizen Newsletter.
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