Gloucester Road (B325) is a street in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

London 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 majo ...

. It runs north–south between

Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde P ...

(at which point it is known as

Palace Gate Palace Gate is a street south of Kensington Gardens in London, England. It was previously part of Gloucester Road, and was initially developed in the 1860s. 1a Palace Gate and 10 Palace Gate are both Grade II* listed buildings. The street is ...

) and

Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a mainly residential area, until i ...

. At its intersection with

Cromwell Road Cromwell Road is a major London road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, designated as part of the A4. It was created in the 19th century and is said to be named after Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, who once owned a hou ...

Gloucester Road Underground station Gloucester Road is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. The station entrance is located close to the junction of Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road. Close by are the Cromwell Hospital and Baden-Powell House. The station is ...

, close to which there are several

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, restaurants, and hotels. St Stephen's Church was built in 1867: one of its former churchwardens was the poet T. S. Eliot.

History

The road is named after

Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (née Maria Walpole; 10 July 1736 – 22 August 1807) was Countess Waldegrave from 1759 to 1766 as the wife and then widow of James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, and a member of the British royal f ...

who had a new house, Gloucester Lodge, built there by 1805. The road was earlier called Hog Moore Lane (1612), that is 'lane through marshy ground where hogs are kept', a name that was still used until about 1850. Gloucester Lodge was built by William Tyler, on the site of the former Florida Gardens, which the Duchess had acquired in 1797. The site is opposite the present day tube station. The Duchess, who had been widowed in 1805, lived at Gloucester Lodge with her unmarried daughter, Princess Sophia. The Duchess died in 1807. By 1809, Princess Sophia had sold Gloucester Lodge to

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Unit ...

. It later became known as Canning Villa. The house was demolished in about 1851. Gloucester Road, between Kynance Place and Canning Place, formed one boundary of the emerging Kensington New Town, built between 1837 and about 1843. The western section of Gloucester Road between Kynance Place and Southwell Gardens, was developed from 1862 to 1879. Stabling for the houses was provided in mews, including Kynance Mews, whose arched entrance from Gloucester Road remains as a listed building. A majority of the freeholds adjacent to Gloucester Road, south of the Cromwell Road, were owned by the Campbell family: Lord George and Lady Sybil Campbell (son and daughter-in-law of

George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll George John Douglas Campbell, 8th and 1st Duke of Argyll (30 April 1823 – 24 April 1900; styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847), was a Scottish polymath and Liberal statesman. He made a significant geological discovery in the 1850s when his ten ...

) held the estates in the early twentieth century. Their only son, Ivar Campbell, was killed in action in World War I. The Campbell estates were sold in the early 1960s, following the deaths of his sisters, to satisfy inheritance taxes. File:Gloucester Road November 2011.JPG, Looking north along Gloucester Road from near its intersection with

Elvaston Place Elvaston Place is a street in South Kensington, London. Elvaston Place runs west to east from Gloucester Road to Queen's Gate. The Embassy of Gabon, London is at number 27. The High Commission of Mauritius, London is at number 32/33. The Embas ...

File:Gloucester Road Post Office 2016.jpg, Gloucester Road Post Office File:St Stephens South Ken 2016.jpg,

St Stephen's, Gloucester Road St Stephen's Church, Gloucester Road, is a Grade II* listed Anglican church located on the corner of Gloucester Road and Southwell Gardens in South Kensington, London, England. History With the population of South Kensington expanding in the mid ...

References

{{coord, 51.4948, -0.1827, type:landmark_region:GB-KEC, display=title Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea