Cheyne Walk is an historic road in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. Before the construction of

Chelsea Embankment Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. The western end of Chelsea Embankment, including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Boroug ...

reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted the river along its whole length.

Location

At its western end, Cheyne Walk meets Cremorne Road end-on at the junction with Lots Road. The Walk runs alongside the River Thames until

Battersea Bridge Battersea Bridge is a five-span arch bridge with cast-iron girders and granite piers crossing the River Thames in London, England. It is situated on a sharp bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea to the north. Th ...

where, for a short distance, it is replaced by Chelsea Embankment with part of its former alignment being occupied by Ropers Gardens. East of

Old Church Street Old Church Street is a street in London, England in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelseabr> It runs from Chelsea Embankment to Fulham Road, crossing Kings Road. The section to the north of Kings Road is sometimes called Upper Old Church S ...

and

Chelsea Old Church Chelsea Old Church, also known as All Saints, is an Anglican church, on Old Church Street, Chelsea, London SW3, England, near Albert Bridge. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. Inside the Grade ...

, the Walk runs along the north side of Albert Bridge Gardens and Chelsea Embankment Gardens parallel with Chelsea Embankment. At the north end of Albert Bridge, the Walk merges with Chelsea Embankment. The Walk ends at

Royal Hospital Road Royal Hospital Road is a street in Chelsea, London, England. It runs between Chelsea Embankment on the north bank of the River Thames to the southwest and a junction with Lower Sloane Street, Pimlico Road and Chelsea Bridge Road to the northeas ...

. At the western end between Lots Road and Battersea Bridge is a collection of residential houseboats that have been ''in situ'' since the 1930s. At the eastern end is the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the sc ...

with its cedars. It marks the boundary of the, now withdrawn, extended

London Congestion Charge Zone London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. The section west of Battersea Bridge forms part of the A3220 road.

History

Cheyne Walk takes its name from William Cheyne, Viscount Newhaven who owned the manor of Chelsea until 1712. Most of the houses were built in the early 18th century. Before the construction in the 19th century of the busy Chelsea Embankment, which now runs in front of it, the houses fronted the River Thames. The most prominent building is Carlyle Mansions. Chelsea Old Church dates from 1157 and Crosby Hall is a reconstructed medieval merchant's house relocated from the City of London in 1910. In 1951, the

Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea The Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from most of the ancient parish of Chelsea. It was amalgamated in 1965 under the Lon ...

planned to construct a new river wall straightening the river bank west of Battersea Bridge. On the reclaimed land behind the wall a new arterial road and public gardens was to be constructed. Cheyne Walk was to remain unchanged to the north of the new public gardens. The works would have reduced the foreshore and required the removal of the house boat births. The works did not take place. In the 1960s, plans for the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

's London Motorway Box project would have seen the

West Cross Route The West Cross Route (WCR) is a 0.75 mile (1.2 km) segment of dual carriageway of the A3220 route in West London running north–south between the northern elevated roundabout junction with the western end of Westway ( A40) and the southern Ho ...

, a motorway standard elevated road, constructed from Battersea to

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...

through

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

. A spur road would have been constructed from the motorway to the junction of Cheyne Walk and Lots Road. The plans were abandoned because of the cost and opposition from local communities. In 1972, number 96 Cheyne Walk, the then home of

Philip Woodfield Sir Philip John Woodfield, (10 August 1923 – 17 September 2000) was a British civil servant. Life and career Woodfield was born in Dulwich, south-east London, and attended Alleyn's School, Dulwich. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery i ...

, a British civil servant, was the site of a top secret meeting between the British government and the leadership of the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

aimed at ending the violence in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The talks were inconclusive and the violence soon started again.

Notable residents

Many famous people have lived (and continue to live) in the Walk: 4 Cheyne Walk GE ILN 1881

No. 1: * Samuel Prout Newcombe (b. 1824) entrepreneur, leased the property from the ground landlord, the

Earl Cadogan Earl Cadogan is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain for the Cadogan family. The second creation, in 1800, was for Charles Cadogan, 3rd Baron Cadogan. History Of Welsh origin, the family name was spelt ''Cadw ...

, in 1891 shortly after it had been rebuilt. Newcombe had made his money in the 1850s from 'The London School of Photography', a photographic portrait studio that soon had branches across London and beyond, exploiting the public's appetite for ''

carte de visite The ''carte de visite'' (, visiting card), abbreviated CdV, was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero. Each photograph was the size o ...

'' portraits. His daughter

Bertha Newcombe Bertha Newcombe (17 February 1857 – 11 June 1947) was an English artist and suffrage activist. The fourth of seven children of an entrepreneurial father with an interest in education and art, she grew up mainly in Surrey. Aged 19, she entere ...

(1857–1947), who lived in the house until her father's death in 1912, was an artist, illustrator and suffragist. She had a relationship with

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, who sat for a portrait in her studio within the house. No.2: *

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

American actor, lived for a short time at No.2, on the corner with Flood Street. *

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

, novelist and pacifist, and her husband,

George Catlin George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American adventurer, lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Old West. Traveling to the We ...

, lived at number 2 before and during the Second World War. No.3: * Admiral

William Henry Smyth Admiral William Henry Smyth (21 January 1788 – 8 September 1865) was a Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist. He is noted for his involvement in the early history of a number of learned societies, for his hydrographic ...

, and later

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, lived at number 3, which in 1945 became a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property housing the Benton Fletcher collection of keyboard instruments. No.4: *

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 ...

spent the last three weeks of her life at number 4. * William Sandys Wright Vaux, antiquarian. *

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 ...

, Scottish painter and arts tutor. * Daniel Maclise, painter. * Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, acquired number 4 in 2015. No.5: * The miser

John Camden Neild John Camden Neild (1780–1852) was an English miser. Life Neild, son of James Neild, prison reformer, was probably born in St. James's Street, London, about 1780. He was educated at Eton from 1793 to 1797, then at Trinity College, Cambridge ...

lived at number 5. *

Howard Frank Sir Howard George Frank, 1st Baronet, (10 November 1871 – 10 January 1932) was an English estate agent and public servant. He was a co-founder of Knight Frank. Frank was born in Blackhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Frederick Frank. H ...

, English estate agent and co-founder of the Knight Frank estate agent chain. No.6: * Sir Arthur Sullivan English composer, attended boarding school at number 6 in 1854. * Edward Dundas Butler, translator and senior librarian at the Department of Printed Books, British Museum. *

Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...

British Liberal politician, Secretary of State for War during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. *

Gerald Scarfe Gerald Anthony Scarfe (born 1 June 1936) is an English cartoonist and illustrator. He has worked as editorial cartoonist for ''The Sunday Times'' and illustrator for ''The New Yorker''. His other work includes graphics for rock group Pink ...

now lives there. *The house has a plaque to commemorate Margaret Damer Dawson who was an early head of the

women's Police service The Women's Police Service (WPS) was a national voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom. History Formation It was originally established as the Women Police Volunteers (WPV) in 1914 by Nina Boyle and Margaret Damer Dawson, who had met when D ...

. No.10: *

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

lived at number 10. No.11: * Sir

George Scott Robertson Sir George Scott Robertson, (22 October 1852 – 1 January 1916) was a British soldier, author, and administrator who was best known for his arduous journey to the remote and rugged region of Kafiristan in what is now northeastern Afghanistan an ...

, Colonial Administrator and traveller in Afghanistan, lived at number 11, as did Sir

Colin Scott-Moncrieff Colonel Sir Colin Campbell Scott-Moncrieff (3 August 1836 – 6 April 1916) was a British engineer, soldier and civil servant, best known for repairing the Nile Barrage and reorganizing the irrigation system of Egypt in the 1880s. Early life ...

, British civil engineer, most notably in colonial Egypt. No. 12: *

Sir John Scott Lillie Sir John Scott Lillie (1790 – 29 June 1868) was a decorated officer of the British Army and Portuguese Army who fought in the Peninsular War (1808–1814). He was a landowner, entrepreneur and inventor. He was Deputy Lieutenant of the C ...

, JP, decorated

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

veteran, Deputy Lieutenant of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, inventor and political activist lived at no. 12, (previously, no. 13) Cheyne Walk and added a floor to it. The building was demolished in 1887, but elements from it were later used in the reconstruction of 1 Cheyne Walk. No.13: * Ralph Vaughan Williams lived at number 13 from 1905 to 1928. There, he wrote works including his first three symphonies, the ''

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis ''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'', also known as the ''Tallis Fantasia'', is a one-movement work for string orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The theme is by the 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. The Fantasia was first perf ...

'', '' The Lark Ascending'', and ''

Hugh the Drover ''Hugh the Drover'' (or ''Love in the Stocks'') is an opera in two acts by Ralph Vaughan Williams to an original English libretto by Harold Child. The work has set numbers with recitatives. It has been described as a modern example of a ballad ...

''. No.14: *

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

lived at number 14 in 1902. No.15: * The landscape painter

Cecil Gordon Lawson Cecil Gordon Lawson (3 December 1849 – 10 June 1882 London) was a British landscapist and illustrator. Life The youngest son of William Lawson of Edinburgh, a well-regarded portrait painter, and of a mother also known for her flower p ...

lived at number 15 (a number of his works still hang there). *The engraver Henry Thomas Ryall lived at number 15. *18th-century Admiral Sir

John Balchen Admiral of the White Sir John Balchen (2 February 1670 – 4 October 1744), sometimes written as Balchin, was an officer of the British Royal Navy with a long and distinguished career during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In the course ...

lived at number 15. *The Allason family, well known for their political and literary influence, lived at number 15. *The

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and Baroness Courtney of Penwith lived at number 15. * Hester Dowden, English spiritualist, lived at number 15. No.16: *

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

lived at number 16 (where he was banned from keeping peacocks due to the noise) from 1862 to 1882. *

Hall Caine Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine (14 May 1853 – 31 August 1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Caine's popularity during ...

, novelist, as Rossetti's housemate. *

Frederick Sandys Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (born Antonio Frederic Augustus Sands; 1 May 1829 – 25 June 1904), usually known as Frederick Sandys, was a British painter, illustrator, and draughtsman, associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. He was also assoc ...

, painter, as Rossetti's housemate 1866–67. *

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

. *

Florence Kate Upton Florence Kate Upton (22 February 1873 – 16 October 1922) was an American-born English cartoonist and author most famous for creating the Golliwog character, featured in a series of children's books. Early life Upton was born in Flushing, New ...

, English illustrator, creator of the

Golliwog The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...

character. * John

Paul Getty Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pio ...

II lived here from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. *

Jacques Blumenthal Jacques Blumenthal (4 October 1829 – 17 May 1908) was a German pianist and composer. Born "Jakob" in Hamburg, he began his musical studies at an early age, receiving instruction from Friedrich Wilhelm Grund, Carl Maria von Bocklet, and Simon S ...

, German pianist and composer. No.17: *

Thomas Attwood (composer) Thomas Attwood (23 November 176524 March 1838) was an English composer and organist. Early life The son of a musician in the royal band, Attwood was born in London, probably in Pimlico. At the age of nine he became a chorister in the Chapel Roy ...

(1765–1838) lived at number 17 for some years up to his death in 1838. He was organist at St Paul's Cathedral from 1796, and of the Chapel Royal from 1836. He was a pupil of Mozart. Thomas Attwood is buried in the crypt of St Paul's underneath the organ. No.18: * Number 18 was renowned for being the home of the curious museum (knackatory) and tavern known as Don Saltero's Coffee House. The proprietor was James Salter, who was for many years the servant of Sir Hans Sloane. No.19: * No 19 was site of the horrific 1973 killing of elderly widow Isabella Griffith, by the serial killer

Patrick Mackay David Groves, better known by his birth name Patrick David Mackay (born 25 September 1952), is a British serial killer who is believed to be one of the United Kingdom's most prolific serial murderers. He confessed to murdering thirteen pe ...

. *Sir

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

's manor house, demolished in 1760, stood at numbers 19–26. No.21: * James McNeill Whistler lived at numbers 21 (1890–92), 72 (? to his death there in 1903), 96 (1866–1878) and 101 (1863) at different times. *

Mortimer Menpes Mortimer Luddington Menpes (22 February 1855 – 1 April 1938) was an Australian-born British painter, author, printmaker and illustrator. Life Menpes was born in Port Adelaide, South Australia, the second son of property developer James ...

, the watercolourist and etcher, shared a flat with Whistler. *

Edward Arthur Walton Edward Arthur Walton (15 April 1860 in Glanderston House, Barrhead, Renfrewshire – 18 March 1922 in Edinburgh) was a Scottish painter of landscapes and portraits, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Life Edward was one o ...

lived here. No.22: *Dame

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, English actress, rented this house during the 1982 West End run of her Broadway play, ''The Little Foxes''. No.23: *

Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...

, footballer. No.24: *

Amanda Eliasch Amanda Eliasch (born 1960) is an English photographer, artist, poet and filmmaker. Early life Amanda Eliasch was born in Beirut, Lebanon, 13 May 1960, where her father Anthony Cave Brown worked as a foreign correspondent for the ''Daily Mail' ...

, photographer and documentary filmmaker No.25 * Lord Browne, former CEO of BP. No.27: *

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

, Irish theatre manager and novelist, author of '' Dracula'', lived at No.27. No.37: * Nicolaus Ludwig, Imperial Count von

Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major figu ...

und Pottendorf, and the Brethren of the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

renovated

Lindsey House Lindsey House is a Grade II* listed villa in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London. It is owned by the National Trust but tenanted and only open by special arrangement. This house should not be confused with the eponymous 1640 house in Lincoln's Inn Fiel ...

at numbers 99–100 in Cheyne Walk in the mid-18th century; it was for a number of years the headquarters of their worldwide missionary activity. Moravian Close nearby is still the London God's Acre, where many famous Moravians are buried. No.41: *

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...

lived at number 41 while lecturing at King's College London in the early 1860s. He used the iron railings outside his home in two experiments on electro-magnetic fields, much to the dismay of friends and foreigners. No.42, Shrewsbury House: *

Guy Liddell Guy Maynard Liddell, CB, CBE, MC (8 November 1892 – 3 December 1958) was a British intelligence officer. Biography Early life and career Liddell was born on 8 November 1892 at 64 Victoria Street, London, the son of Capt. Augustus Frederic ...

, British Intelligence officer, lived in a flat in the present Shrewsbury House, No.42 Cheyne Walk. * James Grant, doctor, adventurer and shark attack survivor. No.48: *

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

lived at number 48 in 1968. No. 74: 0815607318 * Architect

C. R. Ashbee Charles Robert Ashbee (17 May 1863 – 23 May 1942) was an English architect and designer who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement, which took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the soci ...

designed number 74 and lived there off and on until 1917. He also designed number 38, 39. No.89: * Charles Edward Mudie, English publisher and founder of Mudie's Lending Library, was born 1818 in Cheyne Walk; where his father owned a Circulating library, stationery and bookbinding business at number 89. No.91: * Artist

Charles Conder Charles Edward Conder (24 October 1868 – 9 February 1909) was an English-born painter, lithographer and designer. He emigrated to Australia and was a key figure in the Heidelberg School, arguably the beginning of a distinctively Australi ...

lived at 91 Cheyne Walk, 1904–1906 No.92 (Belle Vue): * The chemist

Charles Hatchett Charles Hatchett FRS FRSE (2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847) was an English mineralogist and analytical chemist who discovered the element niobium, for which he proposed the name "columbium". Hatchett was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Soci ...

, the poet

William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (1811–1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the ...

, and the anatomist

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

lived at Belle Vue House, number 92. * Novelist

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

and his wife, the politician Barbara Follett, lived here. *

Patrick Wall Sir Patrick Henry Bligh Wall, (14 October 1916 – 15 May 1998) was a British commando in the Royal Marines during the Second World War and later a Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Haltemprice in the Eas ...

, Conservative MP, lived here. No.93: * Elizabeth Gaskell was born at number 93. No. 96–101 (

, presently known as No. 100) *

Diana Mitford Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...

lived at number 96 with her first husband

Bryan Guinness Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to Diana Mitford. Early life He was born to Wa ...

in 1932. *Sir

Marc Brunel Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (, ; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Born in Franc ...

, who designed the

Thames Tunnel The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet (11 m) wide by 20 feet (6 m) high and is 1,300 feet (396 m) long, running at a depth of ...

, lived at number 98. * His son

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

also lived there. *

Hugh Lane Sir Hugh Percy Lane (9 November 1875 – 7 May 1915) was an Irish art dealer, collector and gallery director. He is best known for establishing Dublin's Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (the first known public gallery of modern art in the ...

, art dealer, collector and founder of the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art lived at number 100 (

) from 1909 until his death on the RMS ''Lusitania'' in 1915. No.104: *

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

lived at number 104, as did the artist Walter Greaves. *

John Tweed John Tweed (21 January 1869 – 12 November 1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Early life John Tweed was born at 16 Great Portland Street, Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He then trained with Hamo Thornycroft in London, and att ...

, sculptor and friend of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, lived at number 108. No. 107 * Sir

Walter_Westley_Russell Sir Walter Westley Russell CVO RA (31 May 1867 – 16 April 1949) was a British painter and art teacher. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1926 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1927 to 1942. Life and ca ...

English painter and arts tutor No.109: * Sir Philip Steer lived at number 109. No. 113 * Suffragette

Isabella Potbury Isabella Claude Potbury (1890 – 31 July 1965) was a portrait painter, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant suffragette who was arrested several times and imprisoned during which she was Force-feeding, forc ...

and her husband, the playwright and actor Charles Nicholas Spencer. No.116: *

Hope Emily Allen Hope Emily Allen (1883–1960), was an American scholar of medieval history who is best known for her research on the 14th-century English mystic Richard Rolle and for her discovery of a manuscript of the Book of Margery Kempe. Early life and e ...

American medieval history scholar, in particular, of the medieval mystic

Richard Rolle Richard Rolle ( – 30 September 1349) was an English hermit, mystic, and religious writer. He is also known as Richard Rolle of Hampole or de Hampole, since at the end of his life he lived near a Cistercian nunnery in Hampole, now in Sou ...

No.119: * J. M. W. Turner died at number 119 in 1851. *

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

musician

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

also lived here. No.120: *

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was a campaigning English feminist and socialist. Committed to organising working-class women in London's East End, and unwilling in 1914 to enter into a wartime political truce with t ...

lived at number 120 after leaving university. No.122: *

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

, English composer, lived at number 122, in 1921. *

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

, Jazz musician, lived in a flat sublet by Whidborne. * Bridget Keir, English landscape painter. * Gabriel Atkin (1897–1937), English landscape painter & architect, who was a lover of the poet

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

, lived here. *Also Timothy Whidborne, English portrait painter. * Carlyle Mansions **

Richard Addinsell Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 190414 November 1977) was an English composer, best known for film music, primarily his '' Warsaw Concerto'', composed for the 1941 film '' Dangerous Moonlight'' (also known under the later title ''Suicide S ...

, English composer, lived in flat 1. **

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

, English actor, lived in flat 11. **

Edward Robey Edward George Robey (1900 – 1983) born Edward George Wade,Wilson, p. 239. was an English barrister. He was best known for his role as the Chief Prosecutor in the John George Haigh case and for becoming a member of the British legal team at the ...

, a lawyer in the Acid Bath Murders case of the serial killer

John George Haigh John George Haigh (; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

, lived in flat 11. ** T. S. Eliot, American poet and writer, lived in flat 19. ** Shapur Kharegat, journalist, editor and former Asia Director of ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' lived at flat 17. **

John Davy Hayward John Davy Hayward CBE (2 February 1905 – 17 September 1965) was an English editor, critic, anthologist and bibliophile. Early life Hayward was educated at Gresham's School and in France before going up to King's College, Cambridge in 1923 t ...

, theatre and literary critic, lived in flat 19. **

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

spent his last years and died here in flat 21. ** Erskine Childers lived in flat 20, with his family, and wrote his novel ''

The Riddle of the Sands ''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influenti ...

'' there as well. He also lived at 16 Cheyne Gardens for several years. **

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

, novelist, Intelligence officer, creator of spy

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

, lived in flat 24. He also lived briefly at number 122 Cheyne Walk **

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

, British novelist lived in flat 27. **

Lionel Davidson Lionel Davidson FRSL (31 March 192221 October 2009) was an English novelist who wrote spy thrillers. Life and career Lionel Davidson was born in 1922 in Hull in Yorkshire, one of nine children of an immigrant Jewish tailor. He left school ...

lived at Carlyle Mansions from 1976 to 1984, where he wrote '' The Chelsea Murders'', a CWA Gold Dagger winner. **

has a six-storey, five bedroom house in Cheyne Walk, and an apartment in Carlyle Mansions. *

Edith Cheesman Florence Edith Cheesman (1877–1964) was a British artist and author, noted for her watercolours of Arabian birdlife and for producing a series of Iraqi postage stamps and postcards featuring wildlife. Life and career Florence Edith Cheesman was ...

, watercolour artist, lived at number 127 in 1911, since demolished and now covered by the World's End Estate, where

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

frontman

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

lived. *

George Weidenfeld George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld, (13 September 1919 – 20 January 2016) was a British publisher, philanthropist, and newspaper columnist. He was also a lifelong Zionist and renowned as a master networker. He was on good terms with popes, ...

, publisher, who became Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea, lived here from the 1960s until his death on 20 January 2016. *

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...

once had a flat there. *

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and

Jill Esmond Jill Esmond (born Jill Esmond Moore; 26 January 1908 – 28 July 1990) was an English stage and screen actress. She was the first wife of Laurence Olivier. Early life Esmond was born in London, the daughter of stage actors Henry V. Esmond and ...

lived there in the 1930s. *

Mary Sidney Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (born Sidney, 27 October 1561 – 25 September 1621) was among the first Englishwomen to gain notice for her poetry and her literary patronage. By the age of 39, she was listed with her brother Philip Sidney ...

lived at Crosby Hall from 1609 to 1615. * In July 1972, during a short-lived ceasefire, an IRA delegation that included Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness held talks in a house in Cheyne Walk with a British government team led by Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw. * The Old Cheyneans – former pupils of Sloane Grammar School, Hortensia Road, Chelsea – take their name from the association with Cheyne Walk and Sir Hans Sloane who lived there. * Colin Colahan, Australian painter and sculptor, lived in Cheyne Walk. *

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

, English architect, known for his work on the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, lived briefly on Cheyne Walk in 1841. * Susan Fleetwood, British actress, lived on Cheyne Walk. Her brother is

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

, a member of the British rock group

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

Fictional residents

Sâr Dubnotal Sâr Dubnotal is a fictional character and pulp hero who starred in 20 pulp magazines published in France in 1909–1910. The ''Sâr Dubnotal'' stories were published Anonymity, anonymously. Some scholars believe they were written by Norbert Séve ...

(1909–1910) owned a house in Cheyne Walk. *

Thomas Carnacki Thomas Carnacki is a fictional occult detective created by English fantasy writer William Hope Hodgson. Carnacki was the protagonist of a series of six short stories published between 1910 and 1912 in '' The Idler'' magazine and ''The New Maga ...

(1910–1912), a fictional occult detective created by English fantasy writer

William Hope Hodgson William Hope Hodgson (15 November 1877 – 19 April 1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and scie ...

, lived in a flat at 472 Cheyne Walk. *Katharine Hilbery, the protagonist of

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

's second novel, '' Night and Day'' (1919), lives on Cheyne Walk with her parents. *In

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London ...

's novel ''

The Pursuit of Love ''The Pursuit of Love'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fa ...

'', (1945) the heroine Linda Radlett lives in a house on Cheyne Walk before and during the Second World War. *The climax of ''

The French Lieutenant's Woman ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. The plot explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and indep ...

'' (1969) by

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. Aft ...

is set at number 16, in the Rossetti household. *In

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her ...

's '' A Word Child'' (1975), Gunnar Jopling and his second wife, Lady Kitty, lived here. *In

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

's ''

My Uncle Oswald ''My Uncle Oswald'' is a 1979 adult novel written by Roald Dahl. The novel stars Uncle Oswald, a character who previously appeared in " The Visitor" and " Bitch", two short stories also written by Roald Dahl (and which can both be found in th ...

'' (1979), the protagonist lives with his parents in Cheyne Walk at the start of the story. *In

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

's 1984 British political novel ''

First Among Equals ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their se ...

'', the MP Andrew Fraser lived in Cheyne Walk. *Margaret Prior, the protagonist of

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sa ...

' ''

Affinity Affinity may refer to: Commerce, finance and law * Affinity (law), kinship by marriage * Affinity analysis, a market research and business management technique * Affinity Credit Union, a Saskatchewan-based credit union * Affinity Equity Par ...

'' (1999), lives on Cheyne Walk. * Richard Bolitho's mistress Lady Catherine Somervell kept a house on Cheyne Walk as mentioned in Alexander Kent's novel, ''The Darkening Sea'' (1993). *In

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley Timothy Findley's
entry in

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

'' (2000), the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

main character is a former resident of Cheyne Walk. *In ''

Stormbreaker ''Stormbreaker'' is a young adult action-adventure book written by British author Anthony Horowitz, and is the first novel in the ''Alex Rider'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom on the 4th of September 2000, and in United S ...

'' (2000),

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...

directs his cab to his home in Cheyne Walk, London. *In Daniel Silva's '' The Defector'' (2009), the Russian billionaire Viktor Orlov lives at number 43. *In

Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Personal life Clare was born Judith ...

's ''

The Infernal Devices ''The Infernal Devices'' is a trilogy by author Cassandra Clare, centring on a race called the Shadowhunters introduced in her ''The Mortal Instruments'' series. The trilogy is a prequel series to ''The'' ''Mortal Instruments'' series. Cassandr ...

'' series, werewolf Woolsey Scott lives at No. 16. *In

Elizabeth George Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is an American writer of mystery novels set in Great Britain. She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series appeared in January 2022. ...

's Inspector Lynley series, Simon and Deborah St James live and work on Cheyne Walk. * Sean Dillon, a recurring character from author

Jack Higgins Henry "Harry" Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) so ...

, has a home in Cheyne Walk. *Lady Celia Lytton and members of her family live in a house on Cheyne Walk for more than half a century in

Penny Vincenzi Penelope Vincenzi (née Hannaford; 10 April 1939 – 25 February 2018) was a British novelist, who wrote 17 novels and 2 collections of stories. Her sales by 2014 amounted to over 7 million copies. Early life She was born Penelope Hannaford, on ...

's trilogy, ''The Spoils of Time''. *In

Lisa Jewell Lisa Jewell (born 19 July 1968) is a British author of popular fiction. Her books include ''Ralph's Party'', ''Thirtynothing'', ''After The Party'' (a sequel to ''Ralph's Party''), and later ''Then She Was Gone'', ''The Family Upstairs'', ''Invi ...

's ''The Family Upstairs'', the plot centres around a baby found alongside three dead bodies in 16 Cheyne Walk, and the mystery of what happened to the other inhabitants of the house. *

Penelope Widmore Penelope "Penny" Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' played by Sonya Walger. Penny is introduced in the last episode of the second season of ''Lost'' as the long-lost lover of Desmond Hume as well as the daug ...

's street address on the television show ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'', in the year 1996, was 423 Cheyne Walk.

References and sources

;References ;Sources *

External links

{{coord, 51.4823, -0.1727, scale:5000_region:GB, display=title Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Buildings and structures on the River Thames Chelsea, London