213 and 215 King's Road SW3 are a pair of
terraced house
A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...
s on
King's Road, Chelsea, London, built in 1720.
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
has designated them a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
In the 1920s, No. 213 was inhabited by leading interior decorator
Syrie Maugham
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Maugham ( Barnardo, formerly Wellcome; 10 July 1879 – 25 July 1955) was a leading British interior decorator of the 1920s and 1930s who popularised rooms decorated entirely in white.
Early life
Gwendoline Maud Syrie Ba ...
. There, in 1927 she created her "all white room", decorated in various shades of white, which became widely known and imitated in fashionable circles. Her husband, the novelist
Somerset Maugham, briefly also lived there. A rival interior decorator,
Sibyl Colefax, lived next door to her at Argyll House, No. 211.
213 has a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
to film director
Sir Carol Reed, who lived there with his wife
Penelope Dudley-Ward from 1948 until his death in 1976.
For a brief time in the late 1950s, singer
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...
leased the 213 from Carol Reed, living there with her husband
Sid Luft and three children. In 1973 they were joined by Carol Reed's wife's cousin Belinda Lambton and her son
Ned, after her husband
Antony Lambton went to live in Italy with his mistress. Her visitors at number 213 included
Leigh Bowery,
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
and
Jerry Hall,
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...
and his band, and
Shimi Lovat.
Bindy Lambton (obituary)
in ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' dated 19 Feb 2003
215 was the residence in 1771 of the composer Thomas Arne and has a tablet commemorating Dame Ellen Terry
Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...
, who lived there from 1904 to 1920.
References
External links
{{coord, 51.48665, -0.17044, type:landmark_region:GB, format=dms, display=title
Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Grade II* listed houses in London
Houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Houses completed in 1720
1720 establishments in England
King's Road, Chelsea, London