Coordinates: 51°29′28″N 0°10′37″W / 51.4912°N 0.1769°W / 51.4912; -0.1769

South Kensington
South Kensington  South Kensington shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ265785
London borough	Kensington & Chelsea
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SW7, SW3, SW5
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
London Assembly	West Central
List of places: UK • England • London

South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.

It is hard to define notional boundaries for South Kensington, but a common definition is the commercial area around the tube station and the adjacent graceful garden squares and streets (such as Thurloe Square, opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum). The smaller neighborhood around Gloucester Road tube station can also be considered part of South Kensington, as well as the institution area around Exhibition Road, which includes such famous names as the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal College of Art, the Royal College of Music and Baden-Powell House. Although the postcode SW7 mainly covers South Kensington, some parts of Kensington and Knightsbridge also fall under this postcode.

Neighboring the equally affluent centres of Knightsbridge, Chelsea, and Kensington proper, South Kensington covers some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. It is home to large numbers of French expatriates (mainly employed in the financial City centre), but also Spanish, Italian, and Middle-Eastern citizens. A significant French presence is evidenced by the location of the consulate, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle - a large French secondary school opposite the Natural History Museum - and the French Institute, home to a French cinema. There are also several French bookshops and cafes in the area.

The nearest Tube stations are South Kensington and Gloucester Road.

[edit] History

The junction with Old Brompton Road and Pelham Street, outside South Kensington tube station.

The area was largely undeveloped until the mid-19th century, being an agricultural area supplying London with fruit and vegetables. However, following the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, an 87 acre (352,000 m²) area around what is now Exhibition Road was purchased by the commissioners of the exhibition, in order to create a home for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences - resulting in the foundation of the museums and university here. Adjacent landowners began to develop their land in the 1860s as a result of the creation of new roads and a boom in the development of areas around London, and the absorption of South Kensington into London was sealed by the arrival of the Underground to Gloucester Road and South Kensington in 1868, linking the area directly to the main railway termini and to the political, commercial and financial hearts of the city in Westminster, the West End and the City of London.

[edit] Notable residents

The Queen's Tower, Imperial College

Notable residents have included:

• Sir Henry Cole (1808-1882), Campaigner, educator and first director of the Victoria Museum lived at 33 Thurloe Square.
• Charles Booth (1840-1916), Pioneer of social research lived at 6 Grenville Place.
• Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917), Actor-manager lived at 31 Rosary Gardens.
• Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), British writer, and her sister Vanessa Bell (1879-1961), painter and interior designer, lived at 22 Hyde Park Gate until 1904.
• Francis Bacon (1909 - 1992), Irish-born British artist lived at 7 Cromwell Place.
• Benny Hill (1924-1992), British comedian lived at 1 & 2 Queen's Gate.
• Nicholas Freeman, OBE, (1939 - 1989) Controversial Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea lived in Harrington Gardens, near Gloucester Road.
• Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-97), liberal philosopher
• Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), English Victorian polymath, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician.
• Charles Crichton English director and script writer.
• Dakota Blue Richards actress

[edit] Nearby places

• Brompton
• Chelsea
• Earls Court
• Kensington
• Knightsbridge
• West Kensington

[edit] External links

The Wikibook London has a page on the topic of South Kensington

London/South Kensington-Chelsea travel guide from Wikitravel

• South Kensington Web site
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Web site
• City of Westminster Web site

v • d • e Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Districts Belgravia · Brompton · Chelsea · Earls Court · Holland Park · Kensington · Kensal Town · Knightsbridge · Ladbroke Grove · North Kensington · Notting Hill · South Kensington · West Brompton Attractions Albert Memorial · Chelsea Physic Garden · Holland House · Kensal Green Cemetery · Kensington Palace · National Army Museum  · Natural History Museum · Olympia · Royal Albert Hall · Science Museum · Victoria & Albert Museum Theatres Chelsea Theatre · Finborough Theatre · Gate Theatre · Royal Court Theatre Royal Parks Brompton Cemetery · Kensington Gardens Street markets Portobello Road Market Constituencies Kensington and Chelsea · Regent's Park and Kensington North Squares and streets Belgrave Square  · Cadogan Square · Chester Square · Hans Place  · Lowndes Square · Redcliffe Square · Sloane Square · Sloane Street · Thurloe Square · Wilton Crescent Parks and open spaces in Kensington and Chelsea