4 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...

, Chelsea, London, built in 1718 and architecturally in the Queen Anne style. There is a blue plaque noting that the novelist

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

lived there until her death. In 2015, it was acquired by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

History

It was most probably designed for its first owner, William Morrison. According to

Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...

's 1909

Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...

, it was built with greater care and expense than 1 to 3 Cheyne Walk (built about the same time). The house can be dated to 1718, because of the date ''1718'' on the lead head to the rainwater pipe. This pipe was formerly at the back of the house, and is now at the front of the house. The red brick facade was almost identical to 1718, except that a third storey was added, and "battlements" now exist upon the parapet. However, the house has had certain modifications to the interior.

Notable inhabitants

In 1851, the organist, composer and teacher

Sir John Goss Sir John Goss (27 December 1800 – 10 May 1880) was an English organist, composer and teacher. Born to a musical family, Goss was a boy chorister of the Chapel Royal, London, and later a pupil of Thomas Attwood, organist of St Paul's Cathedr ...

was living there with his wife, five children, sister-in-law and two servants. Subsequent occupants included the Scottish artist and educator

William Dyce William Dyce (; 19 September 1806 in Aberdeen14 February 1864) was a Scottish painter, who played a part in the formation of public art education in the United Kingdom, and the South Kensington Schools system. Dyce was associated with the Pre-R ...

(1806–1864) and the Irish artist Daniel Maclise (1806–1870), who was a friend of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The antiquary William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818–1885), President of the Society of Antiquaries, Keeper of Coins and Medals at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, Secretary to the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

, and President of the Numismatic Society, lived there until 1880. The house was then occupied by the novelist

, who lived there until her death in 1880. Together with her new husband, John Cross, they leased it in the spring 1880, commissioning a "Mr Armitage of Manchester" to supervise the redecoration and furnishing. However, they did not move in until 3 December, and Eliot died on 22 December 1880. Although she only lived there for 19 days, it is still considered to be her London home, and she has been honoured with a blue plaque, rather than any of the other notable inhabitants. In 1909, the house was occupied by Ernest Louis Meinertzhagen JP, who was a long-time member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. File:4 Cheyne Walk 03.JPG, 4 Cheyne Walk File:4 Cheyne Walk 04.JPG, 4 Cheyne Walk File:4 Cheyne Walk 06.JPG, 4 Cheyne Walk File:4 Cheyne Walk 07.JPG, 4 Cheyne Walk

References

{{coord, 51.48425, -0.16440, type:landmark_region:GB, format=dms, display=title Buildings and structures on the River Thames Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II* listed houses in London Houses completed in 1718 Houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Queen Anne architecture in the United Kingdom Chelsea, London 1718 establishments in England

History

Notable inhabitants

See also

References