London's Famous Residences
Over the centuries, the timeless and elegant "villages" of London have been the home of men and women who have shaped the world we live in.
Belgravia and Knightsbridge; Kensington and Chelsea; Soho and Mayfair all have their tales to tell, and one way of finding out who lived and worked where is by looking out for the eye-catching blue plaques to be found in almost every famous street in London.
Present day landowners include Britain’s second richest man, Gerald Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster. Second only to the Church of England in terms of his land holdings, his company Grosvenor Estates is responsible in reality for a large number of prime properties. The impressive heritage of his family goes back to Hugh Grosvenor, born in 1874.
Born himself in 1951, the present Duke of Westminster’s company owns and manages 300 acres in Belgravia and Mayfair and real estate worth $1.6 billion worldwide, including properties in Canada, the United States and Australia, as well as the 225,000 acre Abbeystead grouse moor in Lancashire. The Duke’s family fortune was estimated at £3.75 billion in last year’s London Sunday Times Rich List. As well as homes in London, his family home is set in the beautiful Cheshire countryside in the north of England.
Probably the most impressive family home in London is, of course, Buckingham Palace , the London home of Queen Elizabeth II. Buckingham Palace has been the official residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837 and evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham.
When the Queen is in residence in London, the royal standard can be seen flying from the flag-pole. Other members of the Royal Family have residences in St James Palace (Prince Charles), Clarence House (the Queen Mother) and Kensington Palace (Princess Margaret and the former London home of Diana, Princess of Wales).
Naturally, many famous stars of literature, stage, screen, pop and politics also have their homes in London. Jeffrey Archer still maintains a magnificent penthouse on the river. Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness both had homes in central London and many present-day theatre actors base themselves in the capital while appearing on the West End stage. Madonna (Holland Park), Tom Cruise (Dulwich) and Al Pacino (the Docklands) have all acquired properties in London. Mick Jagger, Elton John and Cher keep homes here. Baroness Thatcher, having lived in the village of Dulwich, moved to a spectacular house in Belgravia’s Eaton Square and many other members of the House of Commons keep apartments in Westminster within the sound of the Division Bell, which calls them to vote.
Mayfair has always been a lively and popular part of London. Back in the sixteenth century a colourful May fair took place here every year and its carnival atmosphere attracted large numbers of people. The tradition died out in the 17th century, when the land was developed for residential use. Many theatrical and literary names still have their homes in the historic Shepherd Market.
One of the most famous was the dramatist and wit, Oscar Wilde. Although born in Ireland in 1854, Wilde spent many years in Tite Street in Mayfair. The sheriff’s men sold everything in his home the day before the Crown took him to court for the first time. Three volumes of press cuttings, caricatures of him and parodies of his work were sold for twenty-five shillings, along with presentation copies of his plays and fine bindings. He spent the last two years of his life wandering around Europe, staying with friends and occasionally writing for Parisian newspapers until his death from meningitis in 1900.
Many areas of Kensington and Chelsea have been home to distinguished people
over the years and each has left something by which he or she is still remembered.
A street name, a memorial or even an address that is still remembered. For
more than 100 years, residents, historians and visitors have been fascinated
by London’s blue plaques, which identify houses where remarkable men and
women have lived or stayed. Not all rich but certainly famous.
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Plaques are only put up in response to suggestions from the public and in order to have a real blue plaque, you have to have been dead for 20 years! But not every well - known former resident is so honoured. For example, there are no plaques to Sir Thomas More, Queen Elizabeth I, Isaac Newton, J M W Turner or even Queen Victoria!
The Royal Borough was home to many literary figures in the 19th century and many of their lives are commemorated by these eye-catching blue plaques, which can be seen in almost every street. The poet, essayist and historian Hilaire Belloc lived at 104 Cheyne Walk overlooking the Thames. George Elliot, the novelist, spent the last three weeks of her life at No 4 Cheyne Walk.
Arnold Bennet, the novelist, lived at 75 Cadogan Square and G K Chesterton, the poet, novelist and critic, although born in Sheffield in 1874 lived at 11 Warwick Gardens in Kensington. Author James Joyce at 28 Campden Grove. World renowned children’s writer and author of Winnie the Pooh, A A Milne, lived in Chelsea at 13 Mallord Street and Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows at 16 Phillimore Place in Kensington. Charles Kingsley, author of The Water Babies lived at 56 Old Church Street and for a time, the American writer Mark Twain at 23 Tedworth Square in Chelsea.
William Makepeace Thackery wrote The Virginians while at in Warwick Gardens in 1874 and Vanity Fair at 16 Young Street in 1846. Mervyn Peake, who died in 1968, wrote at 1 Drayton Gardens. Former actresses such as Lillie Langtry, who lived at the Cadogan Hotel at 22 Pont Street and Dame Ellen Terry at 22 Barkston Gardens made their homes in the Borough while performing on the London stage in the late 19th century. Dame Ellen, who has been described as " one of the greatest Shakespearean actresses to ever grace the stage" also lived at 215 Kings Road. Terry held strong views on the characters she played. She particularly disliked Desdemona’s weakness and passivity and believed that Lady Macbeth "is no monster. Her strength is all nervous force, her ambition is all for her husband".
An actor whom many consider to be the greatest in the English speaking
world during the twentieth century was Sir Laurence Olivier. Though Olivier
was based mostly in London and England, and made his mark particularly on
the London stage, he made a significant number of Hollywood films. He was
nominated for Academy Awards as an actor, producer, or director twelve times,
winning twice, while also being honoured with two special Oscars. In his
long and varied career, Olivier appeared in more than one hundred and twenty
stages roles, nearly sixty films and more than fifteen television productions.
He is probably best remembered for his roles in Shakespearean plays such
as Hamlet, Richard III, King Lear, Henry IV and Macbeth (often with Vivien
Leigh as his co-star) and many other classical roles. He was knighted in
1947 and made a life peer, Baron Olivier of Brighton in 1970, for his services
to the theatre, which allowed him to sit in the House of Lords.
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In 1981 he was given the Order of Merit. Olivier was appointed Director of London’s National Theatre in 1963. Hollywood bestowed its version of knighthood and peerage on "Lord Larry", awarding him a special Oscar for the full body of his work, the unique achievement of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film. He died at his country home at Steyning in Sussex on July 1989, having been burdened by ill health for more than a decade, but continuing to work at a furious pace into his old age.
The arts were further supported in London by Dame Marie Rambert, the founder of the Ballet Rambert, who lived at 19 Campden Hill Gardens in Kensington and the ballet dancer Princess Seraphine Astafieva, who lived in the famous King’s Road itself at No 152. Sir W S Gilbert, the humorist and playwright, best known as the librettist of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operettas lived in Harrington Gardens, Chelsea at No 39.
Art and music have their famous names celebrated by plaques here too. Artists Sir Edward Burne-Jones at 41 Kensington Square, Augustus John at 28 Mallord Street, Chelsea; the painters Sir John Everett Millais at 2 Palace Gate and Dante Gabriel Rosetti, painter and poet, also in Cheyne Walk at No 16, both founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Another Pre-Raphaelite painter Holman Hunt lived at 18 Melbury Road. The egotistical, abrasive and extremely talented James McNeill Whistler was another resident of various houses in Cheyne Walk at nos. 21, 96 and 101. Joseph Mallord William Turner died at 119 Cheyne Walk in 1851.
The world of music is represented by Jenny Lind, the "little nightingale", who lived at 189 Old Brompton Road. The composer Bela Bartok at 7 Sydney Place, Chelsea and the Australian composer, folklorist and pianist Percy Grainger at 31 Kings Road. Sibelius lived, for a time at 15 Gloucester Walk a long way from his Norwegian roots. Sir Winston Churchill had his London residence in Kensington at 28 Hyde Park Gate, Kensington Gore and the former Prime Minister David Lloyd George was among the many residents of Cheyne Walk at No 10. Sir Stanley Baldwin, another former Prime Minister was a former resident of 93 Eaton Square.
Eaton Square’s latest former Prime Minister in residence is Margaret Thatcher. Often referred to as The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher was born in Grantham in 1925 and admitted to the bar in 1954. Her education and work as a lawyer and an elected member of Parliament led to her becoming Britain’s first woman Prime Minster in 1979. She was also the first Prime Minister in over one hundred years to win three consecutive terms in office, making her the longest serving British Prime Minister of the twentieth century. She earned the title of the most powerful woman in the world at the time and left an indelible mark on virtually all areas of international policy. Her extraordinary political vision and self-confidence, as well as her profoundly nationalistic approach to foreign policy, have promoted comparisons with Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. Her opinions are still much sought after by the past Conservative leader William Hague and she is much called on for her memories of her time in power on the lecture tour circuit world-wide.
London has created and nurtured some of the world’s greatest rock stars and Soho and Mayfair are where they ate, slept and breathed rock ‘n’ roll 24 hours a day. You can still see where the Rolling Stones rehearsed and where the Beatles performed live for the very last time. Follow in the footsteps of Pink Floyd, Oasis and Bowie.
One of the most flamboyant singers to make his home in London was Queen’s Freddie Mercury. As well as a string of best selling albums, Queen stole the show, as the world watched the July 13 Live Aid Concert at Wembley and Freddie’s duet with the opera singer Monserrat Caballe became an anthem for Barcelona. Born in Zanzibar in 1946, Freddie died aged 45 at his Knightsbridge home on 24 November 1991 from bronchial pneumonia. The rock world was in shock as Freddie had kept his illness very private, and only those closest to him had been aware of just how near death he really was. Fans from all over the world sent flowers and cards and many even travelled to London to be at Freddie’s home. His Knightsbridge house remains a shrine to him to this day.
A present day resident of London is Elton John. Renowned for his extravagant parties and wardrobe, Elton John maintains one of his current four residences in London. He also has an estate in Windsor in England, a condominium in Atlanta and a home in the South of France. Winner of hundreds of awards world-wide, Elton received five Grammies and an Oscar in 1994 for his music for the Disney movie The Lion King. A close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales, he was given the honour of singing a re-worded version of Candle in the Wind, a song he had originally written about Marilyn Monroe at the Princess’s funeral. Immediately following his powerful appearance at this internationally televised event, he recorded the song, which eventually earned nearly £25 million for the Princess Diana Memorial Fund. All the profits from Elton John’s own singles are donated to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 1995 he was named Commander of The British Empire and in 1998 the former Reginald Kenneth Dwight became Sir Elton John CBE for his services to music and charity.
Testament to a wealth of talent and achievement can be found in all parts
of London. Look out for the blue plaques commemorating the rich and famous,
who have made their homes and fortunes in London.
We advise you to telephone before travelling as opening times will vary.