South Kensington

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South Kensington

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South Kensington

South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross (known as the centre of London).

It is hard to define notional boundaries for South Kensington, but a common definition is the commercial area around the underground or tube station and the adjacent graceful garden squares and streets (such as Thurloe Square, opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Onslow Square, Onslow Gardens). The smaller neighbourhood around Gloucester Road tube station can also be considered part of South Kensington, as well as the institution area around Exhibition Road, which includes such famous names as the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal College of Art, the Royal College of Music and Baden-Powell House. Although the postcode SW7 mainly covers South Kensington, some parts of Kensington and Knightsbridge also fall under this postcode.

Neighbouring the equally affluent centres of Knightsbridge, Chelsea, and Kensington proper, South Kensington covers some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. It is home to large numbers of French expatriates (mainly employed in the financial City centre), but also Spanish, Italian, and Middle-Eastern citizens. A significant French presence is evidenced by the location of the consulate, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle - a large French secondary school opposite the Natural History Museum - and the French Institute, home to a French cinema. There are also several French bookshops and cafes in the area.

Notable residents have included:

Sir Henry Cole (1808–1882), Campaigner, educator and first director of the Victoria Museum lived at 33 Thurloe Square.

Charles Booth (1840–1916), Pioneer of social research lived at 6 Grenville Place.

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853–1917), Actor-manager lived at 31 Rosary Gardens.

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), British writer, and her sister Vanessa Bell (1879–1961), painter and interior designer, lived at 22 Hyde Park Gate until 1904.

Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Irish-born British artist lived at 7 Cromwell Place and 7 Reese Mews.

Benny Hill (1924–1992), British comedian lived at 1 & 2 Queen's Gate.

Nicholas Freeman, OBE, (1939–1989) Controversial Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea lived in Harrington Gardens, near Gloucester Road.

Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909–97), liberal philosopher

Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), English Victorian polymath, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician.

Charles Crichton English director and script writer.

Dakota Blue Richards actress

Mika singer

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Main Streets in the Area

The main streets in the area are:

Fulham Road
Brompton Road
Old Brompton Road
Onslow Gardens
Onslow Square
Queens Gate
Harrington Road
Harrington Gardens
Courtfield Gardens
Courtfield Road
Collingham Road
Collingham Gardens
Wetherby Gardens

Neighbouring Areas

South Kensington has Neighbouring areas of :

West Kensington Kensington Knightsbridge

Earls Court South Kensington Chelsea

Brompton Chelsea Chelsea

Tube The nearest Underground stations are South Kensington (Circle, District and Piccadilly Lines) and Gloucester Road (Circle, District and Piccadilly Lines).

Train Nearest railway station: Victoria station

Other Districts within RBK&C:

Districts Belgravia · Brompton · Chelsea · Earls Court · Holland Park · Kensington · Kensal Town · Knightsbridge · Ladbroke Grove · North Kensington · Notting Hill · South Kensington · West Brompton

Attractions

Attractions:

Albert Memorial · Chelsea Physic Garden · Holland House · Kensal Green Cemetery · Kensington Palace · National Army Museum · Natural History Museum · Olympia · Royal Albert Hall · Science Museum · Victoria & Albert Museum

Theatres:

Chelsea Theatre · Finborough Theatre · Gate Theatre · Royal Court Theatre

Royal Parks:

Royal Parks
Brompton Cemetery
Kensington Gardens

Street markets

Portobello Road Market

Exhibitions:

Earls Court Exhibition Centres 1 & 2 www.eco.co.uk

Olympia Exhibition Centre www.eco.co.uk

H R Owen Sports Cars

With over 65 years experience and offering friendly expert advice, H R Owen deal in a range of exclusive cars, including Rolls Royce, Ferrari, TVR, Lotus and Land Rover. This branch specialise in sports cars.

Lamborghini

Opened in July 2000 in South Kensington, Lamborghini London is the South of England’s largest official Lamborghini dealership. The factory trained sales team is on hand to ensure that they find you the car that’s right for you, advising on new vehicle specification as well as introducing you to the widest range of pre-owned Lamborghini. They offer a full range of approved finance options from Lamborghini Finance with a dedicated business manager on-site to ensure they find the plan to suit your individual requirements.

Squares and streets

Belgrave Square · Cadogan Square · Chester Square · Hans Place · Lowndes Square · Pembroke Square · Redcliffe Square · Sloane Square · Sloane Street · Thurloe Square · Wilton Crescent