Queen's Gate is a street in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End 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 the advent of the ra ...

, London, England. It runs south from

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 Pa ...

' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by

Kensington Road Kensington Road is a section of road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the A315 road. Location and description It runs along the south edge of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, ...

) to

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 tube station, South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a ma ...

, intersecting

Cromwell Road Cromwell Road is a major London road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, designated as part of the A4 road (Great Britain), A4. It was created in the 19th century and is said to be named after Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwel ...

. The street is mostly in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, but part of the east side is in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

. The municipal boundary is the street centre between Kensington Road and

Imperial College Road Imperial College Road is a tree-lined road in South Kensington, London, England. It runs east–west with Queen's Gate to the west and Exhibition Road to the east. The road forms part of the boundary between Royal Borough of Kensington and Ch ...

History

The street was built on land purchased by the Royal Commissioners for

the Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

under an agreement dated August 1855 with Henry Browne Alexander, whose family owned the land through which the road was to pass, and William Jackson, a building speculator. The road was originally known as Albert's Road, but was officially changed to Queen's Gate in 1859.

Local Politics

Queen's Gate is also a three-councillor

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

with a population of 9,847 (2011 Census). The local Member of Parliament since 2019 has been

Felicity Buchan Felicity Christiana Buchan (born 1970) is a British politician and former banker who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kensington in London from 2019 until the seat's abolition in 2024. A member of the Conserva ...

Places of interest

At the northern end of the road, near the actual gate to

, is an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of Field Marshal

Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala Field Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, (6 December 1810 – 14 January 1890) was a British Indian Army officer. He fought in the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War before seeing action as chief ...

, erected in 1920. From north to south, places of interest visible on the east side of Queen's Gate include the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, the Huxley Building of

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, the

Dana Library and Research Centre The Dana Library and Research Centre (formerly the Dana Centre) on Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, is a venue where researchers and visitors can access the library and archives of the Science Museum Group. History Designed by Sir Ric ...

and the

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

. Kensington Park School is just south of the Queen's Gate Gardens, opposite the museum. The road also lends its name to a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

girls' school,

Queen's Gate School Queen's Gate School is a private day school for girls aged 4–18 in Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London, England. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described it as a "Charming popular school, with a mixed intake, which does jolly well by its gi ...

, which is situated on the road. On the west side is

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 100 Queen's Gate Hotel London, a historical building dating back to 1870, is also situated there. St Augustine of Canterbury parish church

The only church is St Augustine's of Canterbury (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

). Five countries have embassies or high commissions in Queen's Gate: the Embassy of Iraq is at no. 21, the Bangladeshi High Commission at No. 28, the Royal Embassy of Thailand is at Nos. 29–30, the Embassy of Oman is at No. 167, and the Bulgarian Embassy is at Nos. 186–188. The Security Service (MI5) was based at 73-75 Queen's Gate from 1919 to 1929. The nearest tube stations are

and Gloucester Road.

Notable people

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

, comedian and actor (d. 1992) *

Dennis Gabor Dennis Gabor ( ; ; 5 June 1900 – 9 February 1979) was a Hungarian-British physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his invention of holography. He obtained British citizenship in 1946 and spent most of his life in Engla ...

, physicist, 1971

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

(d. 1979) *

Gerald Hocken Knight Gerald Hocken Knight (1908–1979) was a cathedral organist, who served at Canterbury Cathedral. Background Gerald Hocken Knight was born on 27 July 1908 in Par, Cornwall, the only son of Alwyne Knight of Par by his first wife Edith Harvey a ...

, compositor; organist of St Augustine's church, 1931-37 (d. 1979) *

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 sc ...

, sculptor (d. 1960) * E. Beresford Chancellor, author known for his works on the history of London, died at no. 31 (d. 1937) *Sir

Richard Baggallay Sir Richard Baggallay PC (1816 – 1888) was a British barrister, politician, and judge. After serving as Attorney-General under Benjamin Disraeli from 1874 to 1875, Baggallay was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery (Lord Justice ...

, barrister, MP then Lord Justice of Appeal, of no. 55 (d. 1888)

References

External links

Bangladeshi High Commission website

Royal Thai Embassy website

Omani Embassy website

Bulgarian Embassy website
{{Coord, 51.49834, N, 0.17961, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms 1859 establishments in England Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Streets in the City of Westminster South Kensington Imperial College London