Bird Eye Pictures of Sloane Square in 1909

Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the central London districts of

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, located southwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The area forms a boundary between the two largest aristocratic estates in London, the

Grosvenor Estate Grosvenor Group Limited is an internationally diversified property group, which traces its origins to 1677 and has its headquarters in London, England. It has a global reach, now in 62 international cities, with offices in 14 of them, operated on ...

and the Cadogan. The square was formerly known as 'Hans Town', laid out in 1771 to a plan of by Henry Holland Snr. and Henry Holland Jnr. Both the square and Hans Town were named after

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 ...

(1660–1753), an Anglo-Irish doctor who, jointly with his appointed trustees, owned the land at the time.

Location

The bulk of Chelsea, especially the east end more local to Sloane Square, is architecturally and economically similar to

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...

, and

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

. The largely retail at ground floor

Kings Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

with its design and interior furnishing focus intersects at Sloane Square the residential, neatly

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

d and dressed façades of

Sloane Street Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along. History Sloane Street takes its name from Sir H ...

leading from the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare ...

promenade to the small district of

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. On the northern side of the square is the Sloane Square Hotel. ;Exclusive housing hub Estates on all sides are made up of ornate, luxuriously furnished private apartments set behind railings — a minority of these remain combined to form large townhouses, primarily in amongst those of rows of not more than four storeys. Gothic, classical and

Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

mix; the area has grown piecemeal, including in

infill In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban ma ...

, under strict character and aesthetic demands of local

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. Elements of almost every street were reinstated, in similar style, after the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. ;Social analysis In sociology a small

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...

of London has since the 1980s been cast and to some extent outcast as

Sloane Ranger In the United Kingdom, a Sloane Ranger, or simply a Sloane, is a stereotypical upper-middle or upper-class person, typically although not necessarily a young one, who embodies a very particular upbringing and outlook. The Sloane Ranger style is ...

s or Sloanies, relatively young, underemployed and ostentatiously well-off members of the upper classes who linguistically have their own evolving lexicon, sloane(y) speak, spoken in

received pronunciation Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...

. Some are heavily engaged investors in charities, new businesses and the arts, particularly with the influx of and integration with young, wealthy, foreign-born Chelsea residents. The endurance of this class is reflected in an occasional dramatic work or fly on the wall documentary such as ''

Made in Chelsea ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...

''.

History

The square has two notable buildings. Peter Jones department store designed by

Reginald Uren Reginald Harold Uren FRIBA (5 March 1906 – 17 February 1988) was a New Zealand-born architect who worked in the United Kingdom for most of his career. Life and work Uren was born in the Belfast area of Christchurch, South Island on 5 March ...

of the firm Slater Moberly and Uren in 1936 and now a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on account of its early curtain wall and

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

aesthetic, pioneering in the UK for a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

. The building was carefully restored 2003–2007 with internal upgrading in line with the original designs by John McAslan and Partners. This included making the three storey atrium full-height. Peter Jones now operates as part of the employee-owned

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

chain. The other is the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

first opened in 1888 which was important for avant-garde theatre in the 1960s and 1970s when the home of the

English Stage Company The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

. 100m from the Square in Sloane Terrace, the former

Christian Science Church The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word a ...

was built in 1907 and converted in 2002 for concert hall use as Cadogan Hall. It is now one of London's leading classical music venues. In 2005 revised landscaping of the square was proposed, involving a change to the road layout to make it more pedestrian friendly. One option was to create a central crossroads and two open spaces in front of Peter Jones and the Royal Court. The pedestrian area leading to Pavilion Road now houses the flagship stores of many luxury brands including Brora and Links of London. This option was put out to consultation, and the results in April 2007 showed that over 65% of respondents preferred a renovation of the existing square, so the crossroads plan has been shelved. Since then, independent proposals have been put forward for the square. A short walk down Kings Road from the Square is the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bo ...

Holy Trinity Sloane Street The Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity with Saint Jude, Upper Chelsea, commonly called Holy Trinity Sloane Street or Holy Trinity Sloane Square, is a Church of England parish church in London, England. It was built in 1888–90 at th ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church of 1890 (50m north of the Square) is sometimes known as the "Cathedral of the Arts & Crafts Movement on account of its fine fittings. These include a complete set of windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, the most extensive he ever created. Sloane Square Underground station (

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...

lines) is at the south eastern corner of the square and the lines cross under the square to the north west. The River Westbourne is carried over the

tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Und ...

platforms in plain view, in a circular iron aqueduct.

Fountain

The ''Venus Fountain'' in the centre of the square was constructed in 1953, designed by sculptor

Gilbert Ledward Gilbert Ledward (23 January 1888 – 21 June 1960), was an English sculptor. He won the British Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1913, and in World War I served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and later as a war artist. He was professor of s ...

.'Fountains of London'
- '
Secret London
'' The fountain depicts

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, and on the basin section of the fountain is a relief which depicts King Charles II and

Nell Gwynn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...

by the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, which was used in relation to a house located close by that Nell Gwynn had used. In 2006, David Lammy put forward a proposal to have the fountain grade II listed, which was successful.

War memorial

Cross of Sacrifice in Sloane Square, London

Also in the square, positioned slightly off-centre, is a stone cross that is known as Chelsea

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. Made of Portland stone, and designed by an unknown architect, the cross has a capped head on a tapered shaft above a moulded three stage octagonal base. A large bronze sword is affixed to its west face. The cross is surmounted on a plinth which is inscribed with the following: The monument has also been Grade II listed, since 2005.

Notes and references

;References ;Notes

External links