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Chelsea Leasing

Did You Know?

The Chelsea flower show was originally called the Royal Horticultural Society’s Great Spring Show and was held in 1862 at the RHS garden in Kensington. It moved to the Chelsea General Hospital’s grounds in 1913.⁠

The exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices historically resulted in the coining of the term "Sloane Ranger" in the 1970s to describe some of its residents, and some of those of nearby areas. Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside the United States, with 6.53% of residents having been born there.

By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, and once described as "a village of palaces" – had a population of 3,000. Even so, Chelsea remained rural and served London to the east as a market garden, a trade that continued until the 19th-century development boom which caused the final absorption of the district into the metropolis.

The best-known building is Chelsea Royal Hospital for old soldiers, set up by Charles II (supposedly on the suggestion of Nell Gwynne), and opened in 1694. The beautifully proportioned building by Christopher Wren stands in extensive grounds, where the Chelsea Flower show is held annually. The former Duke of York's Barracks (built 1801-3) off King's Road is now part of Duke of York Square, a redevelopment including shops and cafes and the site of a weekly "farmers' market"

There are some interesting literary connections in Chelsea too: P.L Travers and Bram Stoker lived in Chelsea, authors of Mary Poppins and Dracula respectively. Can you imagine two characters less like each other?? Although, let’s remember, both of them can fly and they both seem to be immortal, so maybe there’s more there than we think… Ian Fleming’s James Bond also lived in an unnamed square off King’s Road.

Chelsea Physic Garden is an absolute treasure, partly because it is London’s oldest botanic garden, founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. It was originally intended as a way to train apothecaries in those plants that heal (as well as the ones that harm!), and while the garden is no longer used to teach apothecaries, they still welcome medical students to educate them in the history of plant-based medicine. 

We’ve already established that Chelsea in the Swinging Sixties was the place to be. An important resident of King’s Road in 1969 was Christian. He lived in a flat over a furniture shop and spent his days exercising in nearby Moravian Close, enjoying a well-earned steak from his local restaurant, and drinking from toilets. Oh, did I forget to mention? Christian was a lion.