Cromwell Road is a major

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 ...

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 Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, son of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, who once owned a house there. The Security Service (MI5) was based at 35 Cromwell Road from 1929 to 1934. Cromwell Road was not always the main traffic route it is now, as when it was built, it ended at

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 ...

. The Cromwell Road extension, across the West London railway line and towards Hammersmith, was authorised as a bridge across the railway in 1884 but completed only in 1941. Thus, it was only after the

Second World War 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 ...

that it became the main A4 route into London. The large traffic increase brought much demolition and road rearrangement beyond Earls Court Road in 1967 to 1972, but the main part of Cromwell Road has not had its basic building line changed. The road begins as West Cromwell Road, near West Kensington Underground station, and continues eastwards from Talgarth Road. It becomes Cromwell Road proper as it crosses Earl's Court Road. It goes just south of

Cromwell Hospital The Cromwell Hospital is a private sector hospital located in the South Kensington area of London. It is operated by international healthcare company Bupa. History The hospital, which was designed by Holder Mathias, was established by Bank of Cre ...

and then past Gloucester Road and

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 ...

. The next major crossroads comes at the intersection with

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street ...

, on the corner of which stands

Baden-Powell House Queen's Gate House, still commonly known by its previous name of Baden-Powell House, is a conference centre in South Kensington, London. It was built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and has served as the headquarters ...

, the former headquarters of

The Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

. The road then passes to the south of a museum-academic complex, informally known as

Albertopolis Albertopolis is the nickname given to the area centred on Exhibition Road in London, named after Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It contains many educational and cultural sites. It is in South Kensington, split between the Royal Boro ...

, including the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, near South Kensington Underground station. Near this complex, at the junction with

Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Overview The road gets i ...

, it becomes

Cromwell Gardens Cromwell Gardens is a short but major road in South Kensington, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It joins the Cromwell Road at the junction with Exhibition Road to the west with the Brompton Road to the east ...

for a short stretch before it joins

Brompton Road Brompton Road is a street located in the southern part from Knightsbridge and in the eastern part from Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and partly the City of Westminster in London. It starts from Knightsbridge U ...

. There are two embassies located on the road: the

Embassy of Yemen in London The Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in London is the diplomatic mission of Yemen in the United Kingdom. The embassy occupies a five-storey nineteenth-century house opposite the Natural History Museum. Gallery File:Embassy_of_Yemen_in_London_1 ...

at 57 Cromwell Road, opposite the

, and the Embassy of Venezuela.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

also maintain several buildings on the road, including the Consular Section of the

French embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of France, excluding honorary consulates. France's permanent representation abroad began in the reign of Francis I, when in 1522 he sent a delegation to the Swiss. Despite its reduced presence following dec ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

maintains a Passport and Visa Section at 114A. The

West London Air Terminal The West London Air Terminal was a check-in facility for British European Airways flights from Heathrow Airport. It was located on Cromwell Road in Kensington, London, and was in operation from 6 October 1957 to 1 January 1974. After passengers ...

(1957–1974) was also located on the road.

References

External links

{{Coord, 51.495, N, 0.1832, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea A4 road (England)

See also

References

External links