World's End is a district of

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 ...

, lying at the western end of the

King's 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 ...

. Once a Victorian slum area, council housing was built here in the 20th century, including the

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

World's End estate.

History

The area takes its name from the

public house 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 wa ...

The World's End, which dates back to at least the 17th century. However, like the district known as Elephant and Castle, the origins of names of public houses are obscure. Attempts to explain the name World's End are likely to be misled by modern connotations of the phrase. A more likely explanation starts with the fact that "end" is simply an Old English word for a field. There are many villages and hamlets in Britain that have been called World's End since medieval times, suggesting that the name is simply agricultural.

In the King's Road, near Milman Street, is an inn styled "The World's End." The old tavern... was a noted house of entertainment in the reign of Charles II. The tea-gardens and grounds were extensive, and elegantly fitted up for the reception of company. The house was probably called "The World's End" on account of its then considerable distance from London, and the bad and dangerous state of the roads and pathways leading to it. (''Old and New London'', 1878)

It is mentioned in Congreve's Restoration comedy ''

Love for Love ''Love for Love'' is a Restoration comedy written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered on 30 April 1695 at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Staged by Thomas Betterton's company the original cast included Betterton as Valenti ...

'' (1695) as a place of questionable reputation to the west of London. On '' Cary's New And Accurate Plan Of London And Westminster'' (1795), the inn is shown on the north side of Kings Road, the only building in the area. The modern public house, the World's End Distillery, on the south side of King's Road, was built in 1897. Famous ex-residents of the Worlds End Estate include Christine Keeler and

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, ...

The 1960s

The fashionable set who had made their home at the other end of the Kings Road discovered the World's End and found it was the perfect place to open the boutique

Granny Takes a Trip Granny Takes a Trip was a boutique opened in February 1966 at 488 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, by Nigel Waymouth, his girlfriend Sheila Cohen and John Pearse. The shop, which was acquired by Freddie Hornik in 1969, remained open until the mi ...

. There were several boutiques and hippie shops that clustered round World's End in the late 1960s including Gandalf's Garden selling candles,

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

, spiritual books and hippy paraphernalia. Sophisticat sold reconditioned pine furniture and was home to

Christian the lion Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χ� ...

cub; The Sweet Shop at 28 Blantyre Street sold silk velvet patchwork and applique cushions, tunics, and wallhanging designed by artist Laura Jamieson. The shop was frequented by

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

Jean Shrimpton Jean Rosemary Shrimpton (born 7 November 1942) is an English model and actress. She was an icon of Swinging London and is considered to be one of the world's first supermodels. She appeared on numerous magazine covers including ''Vogue,'' ''Har ...

, and

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 ...

. A short distance away on the

was the Dragon Tea Garden, a meeting place for local aristocrats,

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

s and hippies who sat on floor cushions, played

backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...

and sipped exotic teas. The World's End became a centre for the

counter-culture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

world of the 1960s. This continued in the late 1970s and 1980s with the opening of the boutique

SEX Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

started by

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

in the 1970s (which is now known as World's End).

Housing

In the 1960s Chelsea Borough Council erected new social housing, in particular the Cremorne Estate (named after the historical Cremorne Gardens, which once stood on that site). This was followed, in early 70's, by the red brick towers of the World's End estate which swept away many Victorian

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s. The estate was designed by Jim Cadbury-Brown and

Eric Lyons Eric Alfred Lyons Order of the British Empire, CBE (1912–1980) was a British designer and architect. He achieved critical recognition in his development of family and technology-embracing housing communities in England in the latter part of t ...

, and is now known for its

Gallery

File:The World's End Estate 01.jpg, 1 File:The World's End Estate 02.jpg, 2 File:The World's End Estate 03.jpg, 3 File:The World's End Estate 04.jpg, 4 File:The World's End Estate 05.jpg, 5 File:The World's End Estate 06.jpg, 6 File:The World's End Estate 07.jpg, 7 File:The World's End Estate 08.jpg, 8 File:The World's End Estate 09.jpg, 9 File:The World's End Estate 10.jpg, 10 File:The World's End Estate 11.jpg, 11

Transport

The nearest stations are: * Imperial Wharf (London Overground) *

Fulham Broadway Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons ...

(London Underground)

History

The 1960s

Housing

Gallery

Transport

References

Further reading