SOCIAL HISTORY
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
INNS, TAVERNS, AND COFFEE HOUSES
Chelsea's importance as a pleasure resort near London
from the 17th century was reflected in its large number of
places of refreshment. The earliest recorded alehouse in
Chelsea may have been the Rose, which stood on the
corner of Church Lane opposite the parish church in
1538 and in which an assize of ale was held in 1547. (fn. 1) The
Pye or Magpie, so-named by 1587, (fn. 2) fronted the riverside
road on the east side of Shrewsbury House; courts leet
were occasionally held there. (fn. 3) It was known as New Pier
House, Cheyne Walk, in the 1840s but renamed the
Magpie and Stump by 1855. In 1886 it was destroyed by
fire in 1807 and replaced by a private house, and its early
19th-century skittle alley was converted into a garden
studio. (fn. 4) From the early 17th century, references to
alehouses and coffee houses are frequent. The Dog,
under Richard Eeds, was recorded in 1636 by John
Taylor the water-poet, (fn. 5) and renamed the Rising Sun in
1670, while the Feathers, later on the corner of Cheyne
Row, was first recorded in 1666. (fn. 6) Samuel Pepys tried to
visit the Swan east of Cheyne Walk with friends in 1666. (fn. 7)
The village, particularly the riverside, had the largest
concentration of better-known inns, such as the Cricketers, the King's Head, the Magpie, Saltero's Coffee
House, the Thames Coffee House, the Yorkshire Grey,
the Feathers, and the Cross Keys. (fn. 8) At the corner of
Church Lane and Cheyne Walk stood the White Horse
by 1694, (fn. 9) the stopping place for coaches in the 18th
century. By the end of the 17th century several inns had
bowling greens, such as the one behind the Three Tuns
by the river, another attached to an inn by the river west
of Lindsey House, and Ninepin Place on the glebe next
to College Walk in 1717. (fn. 10) Victuallers, recorded in
Chelsea from the middle of the 17th century, (fn. 11) were
licensed in increasing numbers during the 18th century,
from 31 in 1716, 52 in 1728, and 68 a century later. (fn. 12)
They were also prominent amongst tradesmen licensed
to serve as jurors, making up over two thirds of those
qualified in 1845. (fn. 13) Peter Newhall's coffee house in
Chelsea, licensed in 1730 but whose location is
unknown, was a meeting-place for a society of gardeners
c.1725: 20 working nurserymen met monthly to discuss
specimen plants and new varieties shown by their
growers. The members included Thomas Fairfax, author
of The City Gardener (1722). (fn. 14)
One of the better known of Chelsea's resorts in the
18th century was Don Saltero's Coffee House. (fn. 15) Saltero,
more correctly James Salter, had formerly been a barber
and a valet to Sir Hans Sloane, before opening a coffee
house at no. 59 Cheyne Walk, at the corner of Lawrence
Street, by 1697. By 1715 he had moved his coffee house
to the west side of Danvers Street, and then to its final
location at the newly-built no. 18 Cheyne Walk by 1718.
Saltero's soon became frequented by the wealthy and
fashionable of Chelsea, being noticed by Tatler in 1709.
Part of the attraction was the large collection of unusual
objects and curiosities collected by Saltero, including,
reputedly, a hat which had belonged to the sister of
Pontius Pilate's wife's chambermaid. Items were
donated by Sir Hans Sloane, Rear Admiral Sir John
Munden, and other Chelsea residents, and so extensive
was the collection that a catalogue was printed. Saltero
died in 1728, and his daughter and her husband, Christopher Hall, ran the premises as a tavern until 1758. It
continued to attract considerable custom, largely
because of the collection of curiosities, but in 1799 the
collection was sold and dispersed. (fn. 16) By the middle of the
19th century, the coffee house was described as a 'quiet
tavern', and in 1867 no. 18 was converted into a private
residence.
Some other pleasure resorts popular in the 18th
century were thought of as being in Chelsea as they stood
near to the Royal Hospital, but were in fact at Ebury or
Pimlico in Westminster: these included Stromboli
House and Gardens, Star and Garter Tavern in Five
Fields, and Jenny's Whim. (fn. 17) The most famous, however,
was probably the Chelsea Bun House in Grosvenor Row,
which was flourishing by the early years of the 18th
century, and also housed a museum of curiosities and
antiquities. In addition to having royal patronage, it
reportedly sold 240,000 buns on Good Friday 1829, but
this could not prevent it from being closed and demolished in 1839 and its collection of curiosities sold at
auction. (fn. 1)
In the course of the 18th century taverns and tea gardens
opened up away from the river. The Marlborough
Tavern, halfway along Blacklands Lane, had a garden
attached by 1794. (fn. 2) The Cow and Calf stood on the eastern
edge of Chelsea common in Blacklands Lane where it
joined Fulham Road by 1764 when it was licensed to
Richard Shelmandine or Shelmerdine; he held it by lease
from the owners of the manor by 1781. (fn. 3) It was said to have
been rebuilt and renamed the Admiral Keppel in 1790,
but William Sandeford received a victuallers' licence for
the latter in 1780. (fn. 4) Admiral Keppel public house, later no.
77 Fulham Road, was in use between 1790 and 1856 with
a music and dancing licence; the building was demolished
and replaced in 1856. (fn. 5)
A detached house called Manor House in King's Road
between Little's Nursery and Shawfield Street was turned
into a tea and recreation garden by Richard Smith
c. 1836. Commercial Tavern was later built there and
Manor House became the Chelsea Literary and Scientific
Institution. (fn. 6) The Six Bells, no. 197 King's Road, dated at
least to 1722 when John Westerbone was licensed. (fn. 7) In
1810 it was licensed to William Bray, who with his
brother John ran a tea garden there in the 1820s. In 1895
it still had a bowling green with arbours or little
summer-houses in style of an old-fashioned tea garden,
and had a flourishing bowling club with 65 members.
The inn was rebuilt in Tudor style in 1900. (fn. 8)
Several of Chelsea's picturesque 18th-century inns
survived into the later 19th century but were gradually
picked off by redevelopment, especially along the river.
They were replaced by pubs and restaurants concentrated in and around the King's Road as the commercial
and social heart of Chelsea, where venues like the
Markham Arms and the Chelsea Potter became famous
in the 1960s and 70s.
Figure 59:
The Chelsea Potter Public House, no. 119 King's Road
RANELAGH GARDENS
When the Ranelagh House estate was sold in 1735, the
largest section, 12¾ acres including Ranelagh House and
the Avenue, a coachway made by the earl of Ranelagh
from the house to the London road at Ebury (Westm.),
was bought by Benjamin Timbrell, master builder or
carpenter, and James Swift, (fn. 9) partly as building land and
partly to lease out. They are said to have leased part to
James Lacey, patentee of Drury Lane Theatre, and
Solomon Rietti, for creation of Ranelagh pleasure
gardens, (fn. 10) but Lacey and Rietti do not appear in the
extant papers regarding the creation of the gardens. In
1741 Timbrell and Swift leased to William Crispe and
James Myonet the mansion and gardens for 21 years at
£130, and the Avenue or walk, paved and planted with a
row of lime trees and hedges on both sides, for 4 years at
a peppercorn rent. Under an agreement drawn up with
John David Barbutt and James Myonet just before the
lease, Timbrell and John Spencer, carpenter, were to
erect a building in the gardens according to an agreed
design at a cost of £300: this may be the Rotunda, said to
have been built by Timbrell in 1741, possibly to a design
by William Jones, architect to the East India Company. (fn. 11)
The Rotunda was 555 ft in circumference and 150 ft in
internal diameter. It had four Doric porticoes marking
its entrances. On the exterior was an arcade encircling
the building above which was a gallery reached by steps
at the porticoes. In the interior was a circle of 52 boxes
separated by wainscotting, each of which could accommodate 7-8 people and their refreshments. Above the
boxes was a gallery with a similar range of boxes entered
from the outside gallery. The Rotunda was lit by 60
windows and chiefly built of wood. From the ceiling
hung numerous chandeliers. The roof was supported by
a square erection in the centre of the building made up of
decorated pillars and arches, which included a fireplace
with a chimney and open fire. Originally this structure
had contained the orchestra but after a few years the
latter was moved to the side for acoustic reasons. Behind
the orchestra an organ was set up by Byfield in 1746.
Figure 60:
Interior of the Rotunda at Ranelagh Gardens, during a breakfast
Also in 1741 Crispe and Myonet made an agreement
with Michael Christian Festing, who was to make
contracts with performers for musical entertainments,
with Crispe and Myonet paying the salaries of Festing and
the entertainers; they also arranged to pay for slating work
on the new building. To raise sufficient capital Crispe and
Myonet, who were erecting a 'grand amphitheatrical
structure' for entertainment of the public by 'musick
ridottos', had borrowed money from two bankers who
would raise £5,000 from subscribers, each paying 25
guineas and receiving a free ticket for two people to each
evening's entertainment, up to 6 a year. To secure this
capital Crispe and Myonet conveyed the house, garden,
and avenue for 8 years to trustees for themselves, Barbutt,
and the rest of the subscribers. (fn. 1) Capital for the undertaking was also said to have been raised by issuing 36
shares of £1,000 each, perhaps later on when it became
clear that more capital was required. The principal shareholder and manager was Sir Thomas Robinson, Bt, MP,
who built a house, Prospect Place in the grounds. (fn. 2)
The Rotunda and gardens opened in 1742 with a
public breakfast, and Ranelagh quickly became one of
the most fashionable resorts around London. (fn. 3) Horace
Walpole wrote about it a couple of weeks after it opened,
breakfasting there and describing the immense amphitheatre with balconies full of little ale-houses. In the
1740s he like many others went constantly to Ranelagh,
getting held up in traffic jams of coaches trying to get
there. In the early days admission was sometimes 1s.
sometimes 2s., including the breakfast and morning
concert. On special nights with firework displays the
price was 3s. or more. Tickets costing from a half to two
guineas (10s. 6d.-42s.) were issued for masquerades.
Later on the usual admission charge was 2s. 6d., which
included the refreshments of tea, coffee, and bread and
butter. It was usually open on three days in the week. The
regular season for evening concerts and gardenpromenade began at Easter, but the Rotunda was often
open in February or earlier for dances. In its early days
the public breakfastings and morning concerts were a
constant feature, but in 1754 the proprietors were
refused a license for music, and only breakfasts were
held; thereafter the breakfasts and concerts were apparently abandoned.
Between the acts of the evening concerts visitors
walked in the gardens to the sound of music, and a
garden-orchestra was erected c. 1767. The fairly formal
gardens had several gravel walks shaded by elms and yews,
a flower-garden, and an octagon grass plot. The principal
walk led from the south end of Ranelagh House to the
bottom of the gardens, where there was a circular Temple
of Pan, and the walks were lit at night with lamps in the
trees. There was also a canal with a structure called the
Chinese House or the Venetian Temple.
The chief diversion at Ranelagh, mentioned
frequently and critically, was the promenade in the
Rotunda, with the company walking round and round
inside the building in a quiet and orderly fashion, rarely
disturbed by the unseemly behaviour found at Vauxhall
and elsewhere. The company was fairly mixed, and the
nobility complained about the number of tradesmen,
but it seems to have been more exclusive than Vauxhall.
By 1774 it was usual for the fashionable to arrive at 11
p.m. after the concerts had ended.
For the first 30 years or so Ranelagh was highly fashionable and had attractive entertainments. The concerts
featured many fine singers and instrumentalists of the
day, and performances of choruses from oratorios and
operas; Mozart performed there in 1764. Also popular
were the masquerades at which the company wore
masks, which included tents in the garden, maypole and
rustic dancing, a gondola and a sea-horse lit with lamps
on the canal, shops attended by masked shopkeepers,
booths for tea and wine, and gaming-tables and dancing
in the Rotunda. Later in the 18th century, in addition to
the concerts in the Rotunda there were garden concerts,
fireworks, and transparent pictures in a building in the
grounds.
By the late 1770s, however, Ranelagh began to lose its
fashionable cachet, and by 1788 its shares had fallen 10
per cent in value; it was described as a bore and its distance
from Town told against it. Efforts to revive its popularity
had some success, such as masquerades lasting till day
break c. 1791, and firework displays. In 1792 the exhibition called Mount Etna was introduced and remained
popular for several years, held in a special building in the
gardens: it showed the Cyclops forging the armour of
Mars amid smoke and explosions. By the late 1790s the
directors offered prizes for regattas and shooting-matches, and several spectacles were presented to the
public to try to regain support, but without success. In
July 1803 the Rotunda opened for the last time, and in the
autumn of 1805 the proprietors ordered the demolition
of Ranelagh House and the Rotunda; the furniture was
sold by auction, and the organ was sold to Tetbury church
(Glos.). By 1826 much of Ranelagh's gardens had become
part of the Royal Hospital's grounds (below).
Figure 61:
A masquerade at Ranelagh, showing the canal, Chinese building, and Rotunda
CREMORNE GARDENS
Cremorne House was first opened to the public in 1831
as a sports stadium or club by Charles Random,
self-styled Baron de Berenger, a firearms specialist, who
taught shooting in butts erected there. (fn. 1) In 1845 the
lessee, Beatrix Crowder, (fn. 2) and Robert Russell, probably
one of de Berenger's creditors, granted an under-lease of
the estate to John Wolsey, to run both Cremorne House
and a nearby house, the Canteen, as taverns, (fn. 3) but the
same year Wolsey assigned the under-lease to Thomas
Bartlett Simpson, hotelkeeper of the North and South
American Coffee house in Threadneedle Street. (fn. 4)
Simpson sublet the Cremorne estate to James Ellis,
confectioner, in 1846 for 20 years to run the two buildings and grounds as taverns and a place of amusement, (fn. 5)
and Ellis laid it out as a typical London pleasure garden,
but went bankrupt and surrendered the lease back to
Simpson in 1850. (fn. 6) Simpson took over management of
the gardens, and although he may not have initiated the
opening as pleasure grounds, he seems to have been the
one responsible for their success.
Cremorne Gardens was opened to the public in 1846
and within a few years became established as a popular
feature of London's summer season, its annual
programme of events being welcomed by the press each
May. It took advantage of the greater number of people
with leisure in the mid 19th century: its admission
remained 1s. to enter the grounds, making it relatively
affordable not only for the middle class but for the
growing class of office workers in the expanding metropolis. It could be easily reached by cab or bus from
Charing Cross, or by river steamer to Cremorne pier, yet
still seemed far enough from the noise and dirt of
London to be a rural retreat. The grounds offered several
attractions and side-shows: the Crystal Grotto, Marionette Theatre, Hermit's Cave, American Bowling
Saloon, a circus, a fireworks temple, and a theatre for
musical and dramatic performances. Probably the most
popular attraction was the orchestra and dancingplatform, surrounded by tables among the trees and
overlooked by tiers of supper-boxes. As well as the
regular facilities, there were also spectacles and novelties,
some of which exceeded the bounds of good taste and
possibly legality in an effort to keep the crowds coming
in. To maximise income the management had to appeal
to a broad public and to attract customers from mid
afternoon to after midnight, and because of this
Cremorne developed a dual personality. By day it had
attractive lawns, trees, and flower-beds, with balloon
ascents and marionette shows, to appeal to the family
outing and respectable women; at night it had dazzling,
gaslit music and dancing and refreshments enjoyed by a
wide range of society including loungers and prostitutes.
The gas lights gave Cremorne much of its appeal, strung
out along the walks and in the trees, and blazing around
the sites of the main attractions. (fn. 1)
Figure 62:
A poster for Cremorne Gardens' attractions, including the American bowling alley, Fireworks Temple, Crystal Grotto, theatre, and promenade
In the 1850s Simpson was able to secure court and aristocratic patronage, but by the 1860s Cremorne was
attracting criticism. It was distinctive among places of
entertainment in the wide range of social groups who
came together there, but this social promiscuity, and the
sexual promiscuity which the Gardens drew into its
vicinity, led to sustained attacks from the Chelsea vestry,
local residents, and moralists from a wider area. (fn. 2) In 1861
Simpson retired from active management and assigned
the leases to Edward Tyrrell Smith of the Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane. (fn. 3) Under Smith Cremorne entered its most
popular and commercially successful period, (fn. 4) and writers
emphasized the economics of Cremorne as a business,
which helped to deflect criticisms made on social and
moral grounds: the Gardens required 15 gardeners during
the summer season, 20 carpenters, 6 scene-painters, and 5
house-painters out of season, 12 gasmen, 8 bill-posters,
and gave custom to a variety of performers, fireworks
manufacturers, and security guards. (fn. 5) Smith remained in
control until 1867, when Simpson agreed to lease the
Gardens to William Watling for three years, (fn. 6) and then
granted a 21-year lease in 1870 to John Baum, the last
manager of the Gardens, who spent more than £10,000
on the gardens and premises, (fn. 7) and provided a variety of
entertainments which became increasingly rowdy and
provoked annual opposition to the renewal of his music
and dancing licence. Baum was refused a renewal of his
licence in 1871, (fn. 8) though it was subsequently renewed, but
ultimately it was the value of the land for building which
finally closed the Gardens in 1877, when the freeholder
decided to lay out the area for houses. (fn. 9)
OTHER PARKS AND OPEN SPACES
In 1929 Chelsea had only 13 acres of public open space,
one of the smallest proportions in London at just two per
cent of its area. It had 3 acres of private playing fields, (fn. 10)
and other private open spaces included the Physic
Garden and the borough's garden squares. Before c. 1815
the extensive grounds of the Royal Hospital, which
included Burton's Court on the north side and gardens
by the river, were apparently generally accessible, but
access was then restricted, to local discontent. In 1845
the vestry petitioned that the 'comparatively useless'
grounds be opened to benefit the populous neighbourhood, (fn. 11) and in 1846 the improvement commissioners
petitioned for Burton's Court, on the north side of the
Hospital, to be opened to the public. (fn. 12) In 1850 the
Hospital did open its gardens to the public on Sundays
and at certain times of the year, and later daily all year
round, especially the centre walk and terraces next to the
river, (fn. 1) but c. 1887 use of Burton's Court was again
restricted, to military personnel. (fn. 2) The grounds were
increased when part of the former Ranelagh estate was
added: as Ranelagh Garden it provided 14 of the Hospital's 60 acres. The area was used as in-pensioners' allotments from 1832, and a summerhouse attributed to Sir
John Soane survived in 2000, its thatch replaced with
tiles, but the gardens were laid out afresh under John
Gibson's scheme of 1859-66. The northern part
remained private, with the river end (and the Hospital's
South Grounds) publicly accessible, until in 1912 access
was allowed throughout. From 1947 Chelsea MB rented
the South Grounds as sports grounds, (fn. 3) which continued
to be used by the RBKC, though inhabitants relied
largely on facilities outside the borough. (fn. 4) The Hospital's
grounds became perhaps best known in the 20th century
as the site of the Chelsea Flower Show: the Royal Horticultural Society first held its summer show at the Royal
Hospital in 1913, and subsequently the show became an
annual event of international renown. (fn. 5)
Other open spaces in Chelsea comprised former
burial grounds and small public gardens. After Chelsea
Embankment was created in 1874 the MBW laid out
surplus ground on the north side of the carriageway as
ornamental gardens extending from Old Church Street
to Flood Street; smaller gardens flanked Albert Bridge.
Ground at the northern end of Chelsea Bridge was laid
out in 1884. The gardens, maintained by the MBW and
then by the LCC, totalled one acre, (fn. 6) but were badly
affected by traffic in 2002. In 1887 the vestry created a
public garden out of the disused burial ground around St
Luke's church, the MBW contributing half of the cost. (fn. 7)
The design, by G.R. Strachan, the vestry surveyor,
involved moving most of the stones; (fn. 8) a few altar tombs
remained. Its 4 acres passed to Chelsea borough
council. (fn. 9) There were no facilities for children's games
there in 1929, (fn. 10) and in 1934 conversion of the northern
side to a children's recreation ground was authorized,
although sports were forbidden. (fn. 11) The western part was
subsequently tarmacked for a sports area, with a children's playground adjacent.
By the 1880s the poor condition of the King's Road
burial ground caused controversy. A mortuary was
constructed there in 1882, and the remaining ground was
reserved for the recreation of workhouse residents. After
war damage a scheme of 1947-50 to develop the garden,
with a small part opened to the public, removed most of
the stones and demolished the mortuary. In order to
improve its condition and make the whole area publicly
accessible the Chelsea Society and the RBKC re-modelled
the garden in 1977, retaining mature trees and the remaining monuments; it was named Dovehouse Green. (fn. 12)
Roper's Garden, north of the Embankment between
the old church and Danvers Street, was so-named
because it lies partly on the site of property given by Sir
Thomas More to William and Margaret Roper in 1534. (fn. 13)
The buildings which stood on the site were destroyed in
1941, and from 1948 volunteers and the Chelsea
Gardens Guild created gardens there. A public garden on
the site, designed by Bridgwater, Shepheard, & Epstein,
was opened in 1964. (fn. 14)
The public Cremorne Gardens, at the west end of
Cheyne Walk, were opened in 1982 by RBKC on the
south-eastern extremity of the site of the former
Cremorne pleasure gardens and Cremorne pier, (fn. 15) and
replaced wharves. The 1¼-acre park included gates
which had apparently stood at the King's Road entrance
to the earlier gardens. (fn. 16)
THEATRES
Chelsea Palace Theatre
It opened as a music hall called Chelsea Palace of Varieties in 1903 at nos 232-42 King's Road, a music hall
designed by Oswald Wylson and Charles Long in
baroque style with a capacity of 2,524 in stalls, circle and
boxes, and gallery. Standing on the corner of Sydney
Street with its striking orange-red terracotta dome it was
an important feature of King's Road. It also housed
straight plays, ballet, and in 1923 was used for films, but
by 1952 was almost exclusively a music hall again. In
March 1957 it closed temporarily because of financial
difficulties, but reopened when Jack Hylton took a short
lease for the English Stage Company's production of The
Country Wife by Wycherley, transferred from the
Adelphi Theatre. After that short season it closed for
good in 1957. (fn. 17) It was bought by Granada and used as
television studios until it was demolished in the 1960s, (fn. 18)
and replaced with a shop and a 9-storeyed block of flats;
the shop was occupied by Heal's in 2003.
Court Theatre
The Court Theatre, Lower George Street, off Sloane
Square, opened in 1870 as the New Chelsea Theatre in
the former Ranelagh Chapel. In 1871 its interior was
altered by Walter Emden and it was renamed the
Belgravia Theatre. Further alterations were made in
1882 by Alexander Peebles, after which its capacity was
728, distributed between stalls and boxes, dress circle
and balcony, amphitheatre, and gallery, and it was
presumably renamed Court Theatre at this time. It was
closed in 1887 and demolished, (fn. 1) being replaced by the
Royal Court Theatre on another site.
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre was built on the east side of
Sloane Square and opened in 1888, designed by Walter
Emden and Bertie (W.R.) Crewe to replace the earlier
Court Theatre (above). Built of fine red brick, moulded
brick, and a stone facade in free Italianate style, it had a
capacity of 841 in stalls, dress circle, amphitheatre, and
gallery. It ceased to be used as a theatre in 1932, (fn. 2) but was
used as a cinema 1935-40 until bomb damage closed it.
The interior was reconstructed by Robert Cromie and
the theatre reopened in 1952; further alterations were
made in 1956 and 1980, retaining the façade largely
unaltered. The capacity in 1982 was 442. (fn. 3) George
Devine became artistic director and opened the English
Stage Company at the Royal Court in 1956 as a subsidised theatre producing new British plays, international
plays, and some classical revivals. (fn. 4) Devine aimed to
create a writers' theatre, where the play was more important than the actors, director, or designer, and to
discover writers whose plays were stimulating, provocative and exciting: the Royal Court production of John
Osborne's Look Back in Anger in May 1956 was later seen
as the decisive starting point of modern British drama,
and Devine's policy created a new generation of British
playwrights: John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, John
Arden, Ann Jellicoe, N.F. Simpson, and Edward Bond.
Early seasons included new international plays by
Bertolt Brecht, Eugene lonesco, Samuel Beckett,
Jean-Paul Sartre, and Marguerite Duras.
The theatre started with the 400-seat proscenium arch
Theatre Downstairs, and then in 1969 opened a second
theatre, the 60-seat studio Theatre Upstairs. Though the
quality of the auditorium and the façade were greatly
appreciated by audiences, the remainder of the building
had little merit, providing poor facilities for both audience and performers. By the early 1990s the theatre was
becoming dangerous, particularly in its electricity
circuits, and was threatened with closure in 1995. The
theatre also backed onto the Westbourne (Ranelagh)
sewer, possibly why the drains caused flooding in the
stalls and understage throughout the 20th century. The
Royal Court received a grant of £16.2 million from the
National Lottery and the Arts Council for redevelopment, which began in 1996. The structure was
completely rebuilt, but the façade and the intimate auditorium were preserved; facilities for performers and
theatre-goers were improved, and additional office and
dressing-room space was provided by building a new
annex over the Ranelagh sewer. The refurbished theatre,
supported by the Jerwood Foundation, reopened in
2000 with the 330-seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs,
and also maintained a studio theatre, the Jerwood
Theatre Upstairs. In 2003 the Royal Court remained
influential in world theatre, producing new plays of high
quality, encouraging writers from across society, and
developing connections abroad.
The Man in the Moon theatre in the public house at
the corner of King's Road and Park Walk was one of
London's fringe theatres for about 20 years, before
closing in 2002.
CINEMAS
By 1912 Chelsea had six cinemas or theatres which also
showed films. Chelsea Electric Palace, nos 180-2 King's
Road, seating 400, was used for films and variety shows.
Those showing films only were Cremorne Cinema,
World's End, King's Road, seating 240; Electric Theatre,
nos 148-50 King's Road; King's Picture Playhouse,
Church Street; Royal Electric Theatre, Draycott Avenue,
seating 300. The Palace of Varieties (above), King's
Road, was the 6th. (fn. 5)
In 1910 the Palaseum, designed by A.W. Hudson for
960, was opened at no. 279 King's Road, on the corner of
Church Street. In 1911 it was renamed King's, and is
presumably the King's Picture Playhouse, Church Street,
mentioned in 1912 with a capacity of 1,200. It became
the Ritz in 1943, and the Essoldo in 1949 after remodelling by C. Edmund Wilford. (fn. 6) The Essoldo was noted as
an 'enterprising cinema' in 1969 showing both general
entertainment and films reflecting modern society. (fn. 7) It
was modernized in 1968 with 432 seats, and became the
Curzon in 1972, but closed in 1973. The building
reopened as King's Road Theatre for live performances,
closing again in 1979. It then reopened in 1980 as the
Classic with four screens, seating 245, 277, 161, and 153
respectively. Screen 4 was renamed The Arts in 1984,
and the whole complex was renamed Cannon in 1986. (fn. 8)
It was still open in 2003 as UGC Chelsea, seating 220,
238, 122, and 111 for the four screens.
The Picture House at no. 148 King's Road, between
Markham Street and the Pheasantry, was the site of the
Electric Theatre, nos 148-50, in 1912, designed by Felix
Joubert with a capacity of 394. Known as the Classic by
1972, (fn. 1) it closed in 1973 and reopened with live shows,
but was demolished in 1978 and replaced by shops and
flats. (fn. 2)
In 1934 the Gaumont Palace opened at no. 206 King's
Road, designed by W.E. Trent and E.F. Tulley with a
capacity of 2,502. It became the Gaumont by 1946, and
the Odeon in 1963. It closed in 1972 and was converted
into a department store for Habitat, which incorporated
in the complex a new Odeon seating 739 which opened
in 1973. It closed in 1981 and reopened 1983 as the
Chelsea Cinema, (fn. 3) and was still open in 2003 as an independent cinema.
SPORTS
Prince's Club, an exclusive sports club with socially
restricted membership, was opened in 1870 by George
and James Prince. The club houses were built on the
grounds of Holland's Pavilion, and the club used former
nursery land adjoining as a cricket ground. In addition
to cricket there were facilities for tennis, badminton,
and, later, skating. The ground was being built on in
1879, and the club finally closed in 1885 when its lease
expired, moving to W. Kensington where it operated as
the Queen's Club. (fn. 4)
Chelsea had two other skating rinks, at Royal Avenue
from 1875, and at the Glaciarium in Milman's Street
from 1876. (fn. 5) Catharine Lodge, in south-west corner of
Trafalgar Square, became a cycling club for society
people c. 1896. (fn. 6) The area in the centre of Trafalgar
Square was sub-let to the Chelsea Lawn Tennis Club by
lease expiring in 1928; (fn. 7) occupied the centre of Trafalgar
Square from before First World War until the square was
redeveloped in 1928. (fn. 8)
Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea Football Club was founded in 1905 to play in a
sports ground at Stamford Bridge bought by H.A.(Gus)
Mears and his brother, Mr J.T. Mears, after Fulham FC
turned down the ground. (fn. 9) Gus Mears had his team
officially recognised by the Football League and it played
its first match in 1905, against West Bromwich Albion. A
match later that year had 60,000 spectators, and by
1906/7 Chelsea had reached the First Division. (fn. 10) Chelsea
were winners of the League Division One in 1955, and of
the F.A. Cup in 1970, 1997, and 2000; they were runners
up 4 times, semi-finalists 8 times. They were particularly
successful, both at home and in Europe, in the 1950s and
6os, and in the 1990s. (fn. 11) The main history of the
development of the ground, Stamford Bridge stadium, is
reserved for treatment under Fulham.
Figure 63:
The Rose and Crown Public House, Lower Sloane Street, meeting place of local friendly societies
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES AND SAVINGS CLUBS
A number of friendly, loan, and building societies met in
Chelsea, mainly in public houses. (fn. 12) Among early ones,
the Freedom and Friendship with Hope Society, which
met in the King's Arms, was registered from 1794 to
1816, the Friendly Assistants' Society was registered at
the Cricketer's Inn in 1799, the Brotherly Society of
Bricklayers at the Coach & Horses inn in Marlborough
Street in 1803, the Chelsea Female Union Society at the
Magpie and Stump in 1804, and the Chelsea Union
Friendly Society at the Duke of Wellington inn, South
Street, Sloane Square, in 1823. By the 1840s societies not
meeting at pubs included the Chelsea Independent Total
Abstinence Society, which met at the Tee Total Coffee
House, Exeter Street, and the Temperance Provident
Society which met at the Mechanics' Institution in
King's Road. Burial societies included the Catholic
Burial Society of St Joseph and St Patrick, at the Coach &
Horses inn, Marlborough Street, registered from 1839 to
1861, and the West London Philanthropic Burial
Society, registered from 1849 to 1859 which met first at
the Rose & Crown, Lower Sloane Street, and then at the
Queen's Head, Keppel Street. Loan societies included
the Chelsea & General Joint Stock Loan Society, at the
Prince of Wales in Exeter Street, and the Chelsea New
Loan Society at no. 24 George Street, near Sloane
Square. The Chelsea Building Society was registered at
no. 7 Sloane Terrace in 1842.
Chelsea Savings Bank was founded in 1819 under the
patronage of the duke of York and duke of Wellington.
In 1861 Chelsea Savings Bank reported it had over
10,000 contributors, and included 53 charitable societies and 25 friendly societies. (fn. 1)
Chelsea Temperance Society was founded in 1837,
and had a hall in Pond Place (later Street). In 1908 it
built Sydney Hall in Pond Street near its old hall, which
had served for many years. (fn. 2)
The Chelsea Permanent Building Society, later
Chelsea Building Society, was founded in 1875 in
London. (fn. 3) In 1934 new offices on 3 floors of a corner site
in King's Road were opened for it, (fn. 4) presumably that still
in use in 2003.
PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES
Chelsea Benevolent Society was founded in 1838 to alleviate individuals' distress, its members being entitled to
refunds if they had given up to 2s. 6d. for immediate
relief in the most deserving cases. It had relieved 2,502
cases by 1856, 141 in that year, and 5,892 by 1873, when
the funds totalled £3,370. Gifts from Earl Cadogan and
Leedham White brought the total to £6,482 and
permitted the relief of 469 in 1885. Meetings were held
at the Commercial Hall, King's Road, until 1855, at the
Pier Hotel, Cheyne Walk, until 1869, and thereafter at
the White Hart, King's Road. They were not recorded
after 1885, although it was not until 1918 that amalgamation with Chelsea Relief Society created Chelsea Benevolent and Relief Society. The society was amalgamated
with Kensington and Chelsea Benevolent Society in
1933, and was wound up c. 1961. (fn. 5)
Chelsea Relief Society, founded in 1861 and with
volunteer visitors, from 1871 defined its aim as the
discouragement of indiscriminate almsgiving by distributing the largest amount of relief for the smallest cost of
management. In 1875 c. 1,300 tickets for bread, meat,
and coals at Christmas were issued, and in 1896 230
persons or families received sums of 5s. to £2, at a total
cost of £119. Unrecorded after 1896, the society was
amalgamated with Chelsea Benevolent Society (above)
in 1918. (fn. 6)
World's End Boys' Club was founded 1934 at no. la
Lacland Place to help local boys aged 14-18 to make
good use of their leisure. It provided physical training,
boxing, rowing and other sport, handicrafts, a reading
and games room and a canteen, and a summer camp. (fn. 7)
Funds were raised through balls and other functions
held in Chelsea. (fn. 8) In 1940, though younger boys had been
evacuated, it still had an average nightly attendance of
85-90, (fn. 9) and was considering expanding into a neighbouring house 1942: it had c. 100 members, 60 of them
under 16. (fn. 10) In 1947 it received a council grant, (fn. 11) and was
still there in 1953 at the top of Lacland Place opposite the
mission hall, (fn. 12) but presumably closed soon afterwards
for development of the Cremorne Estate. A West
Chelsea Girls' Club was started in 1917 with headquarters at no. 484 King's Road; it was still operating in
1938. (fn. 13)
Chelsea Central Club started in 1941 at St Luke's
schools, remaining there until 1945 when it moved to
no. 30 Chelsea Square. It was apparently originally for
boys, and had 80-90 members in 1947, providing sport,
a library, and discussions. A mixed club started in 1947
with 60 members, with opportunities for carpentry,
boot repairing, badminton, acting, and dancing. (fn. 14) Balls
were held at the Town Hall in aid of the clubs in 1952
and 1962. (fn. 15)
CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
In 1851 there was a Library Institution in King's Rd
between nos 102 and 105; the secretary was William
Hill. (fn. 16)
Chelsea had several music societies in the 20th
century. The Chelsea Music Club was founded in 1922
by Lady Piggott, and apart from the Second World War,
provided Chelsea with a regular programme of chamber
music in spring and autumn concerts, and included
many well-known artists. Its first concert was held in
1923, conducted by Eugene Goossens at the Town Hall;
in 1955 it gave its 200th concert. (fn. 17) Also in the 1920s a
group of madrigal singers called the Chelsea Singers was
founded, and gave their first concert in 1926. (fn. 18) The
Chelsea Opera Group was formed in 1950 from a group
of amateurs and students, many living in Chelsea, giving
concert performances of operas under the
conductorship of Colin Davis. Performances were given
in Oxford and Cambridge as well as London, including a
concert performance at Festival Hall. (fn. 19) In 1957 as their
annual spring performance they performed the Merry
Wives of Windsor under Colin Davis, who brought his
own Chelsea Opera Group Orchestra, at Peter Jones
department store in conjunction with the music society
of the John Lewis Partnership. In 1957 the Chelsea
Chamber Orchestra was giving performances at the
Town Hall, and in 1958 performed with the Goossens
family, the well-known instrumentalists. (fn. 1) The Chelsea
College Orchestra was founded by Nicholas Dodd with
10 students at Chelsea College where he taught. It
changed its name c. 1980 to Chelsea Symphony
Orchestra and by 1986 was one of the country's leading
amateur orchestras, giving about eight concerts a year
and the occasional overseas performance. Its main base
was Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, where it gave
many of its performances. (fn. 2)
Chelsea Book Club, at no. 65 Cheyne Walk (Lombard
Terrace), like an 18th-century bookshop held exhibitions
and lectures as well as selling books. In 1920 it held an
exhibition of sculpture from Ivory Coast and Congo; it
was the first to stock Joyce's Ulysses in 1922. In 1928 it
was sold because of financial problems, and became the
Lombard Restaurant.
The Chelsea Festival was started c. 1992 and referred
to as Chelsea Week in 1993, when it was intended to be a
festival of all local activities: it included a fashion show, a
range of musical and theatrical performances, and an
exhibition involving the Chelsea Society, Chelsea Arts
Society, and Chelsea Arts College. (fn. 3) It was still being held
in 2003 when it lasted for three weeks from the middle of
June.
Chelsea Arts Club
The Chelsea Arts Club was founded in 1891 by Whistler
and his contemporaries in rooms at no. 181 King's
Road. In 1902 it moved to larger premises at no. 143 Old
Church Street. In 1933 the club's premises, which had an
acre of garden, were remodelled. From 1908 to 1958 the
club held a series of public fancy dress balls at the Albert
Hall, latterly on New Year's eve, which raised funds for
artists' charities, (fn. 4) but they ceased owing to their notoriety and rowdiness, and private functions were held at
the club instead. (fn. 5) In 1966 the club was redecorated, a
new bar was opened, and membership was opened to
women artists as well. (fn. 6) The club had 700 members
c. 1973 and was open to all in professions associated with
arts: writers, dress designers, antique dealers, and
theatre. (fn. 7) In 2003 it had 1,600 painters, sculptors, architects, designers, photographers, and filmmakers, and
800 writers, dancers, musicians, and other kinds of
artists as its members. The club's facilities included a
dining room, billiards room, garden, and 13 simple
bedrooms for members. (fn. 8)
New English Art Club
Cliques of painters who were not part of the more established schools of painting of the 1880s, and who therefore found it difficult to get exhibition space, formed
their own clubs. The New English Art Club was one
such, formed in 1886 following meetings in Luke Fildes'
house and at the Wentworth Studios, Chelsea. The
NEAC had no formal HQ, as most of its leading
members also belonged to the Chelsea Arts Club. (fn. 9) In
2003 the NEAC, which had about 70 members,
continued to support contemporary British figurative
artists, especially through exhibitions, and also held
drawing classes and other events. (fn. 10)
POLITICAL CLUBS
In 1792 there was a political discussion club called the
Free and Easy or Arthurian Society, which met at the Star
& Garter in Sloane Square, and which, because of the
mood of the time and based on an anonymous warning,
was suspected of plotting to start a riot, arming its
members with bludgeons and intending to kill anyone
they came across. Hand bills alerting the populace were
posted up in parts of Chelsea, Kensington, and
Knightsbridge, and brought out the Chelsea Association
to keep the peace and prevent trouble, and this was
thought to have deterred the rioters. (fn. 11)
A Chelsea Liberal Association existed by 1877; it
adopted the Birmingham system of party organization
in 1878. (fn. 12) By then there was also a Conservative Association, which dined in the Vestry Hall. (fn. 13) Both main parties'
associations remained active in the 1880s. (fn. 14) A Conservative Club in the King's Road was begun in 1887; (fn. 15) in
1910 one for Stanley ward alone was begun, with provision for shooting, smoking, and gambling. (fn. 16) In 1879 it
was claimed that a great proportion of the Chelsea
working class was Radical, whereas their opposite
numbers in Kensington were Conservative. (fn. 17)
Systematic political activity by Radical clubs began in
Chelsea in the mid-1870s, where the Eleusis, which
evolved from a branch of the Reform League, promoted
working-class electoral registration, and with the three
other components of the parish's combined political
committee of Radical Clubs, the Cobden, Progressive,
and Hammersmith clubs, had involved itself in the selection of parliamentary candidates. (fn. 18) The committee was
often represented at radical demonstrations, and was
enlisted to support the local Liberal candidate, Charles
Dilke. There was also a Chelsea Labour Association, a
weekly meeting of Dilke's trade unionist supporters. (fn. 1)
The Eleusis club had a lease of nos 180 and 182 King's
Road, expiring in 1902. (fn. 2) The radical committee was still
active in 1898, (fn. 3) but the Independent Labour Party in
Chelsea disintegrated after 1895 when the Fabians,
including presumably the Webbs, seceded. (fn. 4) By 1898
working-class support in the main part of the parish had
been weakened by the Cadogan estate's gentrifying
rebuilding. In 1914 Chelsea was one of six metropolitan
boroughs with no Labour party, and in 1918 the exclusion of Kensal Town crushed the anti-Conservative
elements. G.B. Shaw remarked that in Chelsea 'no
progressive has a dog's chance....lord Cadogan rebuilt
it fashionably and drove all the Radicals across the
Bridge to Battersea'. (fn. 5)
NEWSPAPERS
Chelsea was served by three long-lived titles. (fn. 6) The
Chelsea Mail began in 1856 as the West Middlesex
Advertiser and Family Journal, changing its name in 1897
to the Chelsea Mail and West Middlesex Advertiser, which
it retained until it ceased publication in 1913, apart from
1905 to 1908 when the title was reversed. The Chelsea
News and General Advertiser began publication in the
early 1860s, changing its name to The Westminster and
Chelsea News in 1879, and the West London Press, Westminster and Chelsea News in 1855. From 1962 it was
published as the Chelsea News, West London Press and
Westminster & Pimlico News, and from 1972 as the
Chelsea News. In 1920 the Chelsea Courier and
Kensington Gazette began publication, changing it name
to Chelsea Gazette in 1923 and the Chelsea & West
London Gazette in 1927, but the West London and Chelsea
Gazette from 1929 until it was discontinued in 1971.
There were a number of other short-lived titles, especially in the second half of the 19th century, several of
them political newspapers including the Battersea and
Chelsea News, published between January 1866 and July
1869, and the Independence, covering Chelsea,
Knightsbridge, Fulham, Wandsworth and Battersea,
between January 1862 and March 1863. (fn. 7)