Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of
central LondonCentral London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. The road runs along the south side of
Hyde ParkHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, west from
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
, spanning the
City of WestminsterThe City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
and the
Royal Borough of Kensington and ChelseaThe Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
. Up to
Brompton RoadBrompton Road is a street in Knightsbridge, London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea .It starts from Knightsbridge tube station and runs south-west through an extremely wealthy residential area until it reaches Egerton Gardens and the area to the east of South Kensington tube station...
, it is a part of the A4 arterial road, while the remainder is part of the A315 road.
The eponymous district comprises the area south of
Hyde ParkHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, east of the
South KensingtonSouth Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
museums area and west of
Sloane StreetSloane Street is a major London street which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along, entirely in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712...
.
Beauchamp PlaceBeauchamp Place is a fashionable shopping street in the Knightsbridge district of London. It was known as Grove Place until 1885.Beauchamp Place was also a 16th century mansion of the Seymour family, whose titles included Viscount Beauchamp. It belonged to Edward Symour, Viscount Beauchamp who...
and the western section of
Pont StreetPont Street is a fashionable street in Knightsbridge and Belgravia, central London, England, not far from the Knightsbridge department store Harrods to the north-west. The street crosses Sloane Street in the middle, with Beauchamp Place to the west and Cadogan Place, and Chesham Place, to the east,...
serve roughly as its southern border though adjacent gardens and squares such as Lennox Gardens and
Cadogan SquareCadogan Square is a square in Knightsbridge named after Earl Cadogan .It is one of the most desirable residential addresses in London. It is formed of a garden surrounded by red-brick houses, the majority of which have now been converted into apartments. Cadogan Square is south of Pont Street, east...
can be considered parts of Knightsbridge. South of this area, the district fades into Brompton and
ChelseaChelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
while
BelgraviaBelgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
lies to the East.
Knightsbridge is notable as an ultra-expensive residential area, and for the density of its upmarket retail outlets. It is identified in the
London PlanThe London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the
West EndThe West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
.
History
Knightsbridge was originally a small hamlet or locality outside the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, between the villages of
ChelseaChelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
(
Chelsey),
KensingtonKensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
(
Kensing town) and Charing. In the time of
Edward IEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, the manor of Knightsbridge appertained to the abbey of Westminster. It was named after a crossing of the
River WestbourneThe River Westbourne is a river in London, England. It flows from Hampstead down through Hyde Park to Sloane Square and into the River Thames at Chelsea...
, which is now an
underground riverA subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth ....
. It is recorded that the citizens of London met Matilda of England at the Knight's Bridge in 1141.
From 1885 to 1887, as a result of the opening of trade between Britain and the
Far EastThe Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, Humphreys' Hall in Knightsbridge hosted
an exhibition of Japanese cultureThe Japanese Village in Knightsbridge, London, was a late Victorian era exhibition of Japanese culture located in Humphreys' Hall, which took place from January 1885 until June 1887.-Description:...
in a setting built to resemble a traditional Japanese village. The exhibition was very popular, with over 250,000 visitors during its early months. Japanese artisans illustrated "the manners, customs, and art-industries of their country, attired in their national and picturesque costumes. Magnificently decorated and illuminated Buddhist temple. Five o’clock tea in the Japanese tea-house. Japanese Musical and other Entertainments. Every-day Life as in Japan". W.S. Gilbert and his wife attended the exhibition, which is said to have inspired him to write
The MikadoThe Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
.
Economy
Knightsbridge is home to many expensive shops, including the department stores
HarrodsHarrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
and
Harvey NicholsHarvey Nichols, founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it sells many international brands of clothing for women and men, fashion accessories, beauty products, wine and food...
, and flagship stores of many British and international fashion houses, including those of London-based shoe designers
Jimmy ChooDato' Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes....
and
Manolo BlahnikManuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
, and two
PradaPrada S.p.A. is an Italian fashion label specializing in luxury goods for men and women , founded by Mario Prada.-Foundations:...
stores. The district also has banks that cater for rich individuals (including
CouttsCoutts & Co. is one of the UK's private banking houses, now wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland . RBS acquired Coutts and all of its overseas subsidiaries when it bought NatWest. On 1 January 2008, Coutts' international businesses were renamed RBS Coutts, aligning them more closely with...
, bankers to the
QueenElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
), some of London's most renowned restaurants are here, many exclusive hair and beauty salons, antiques and antiquities dealers, and chic bars and clubs.
Property
The district is leafy, especially considering its location at the heart of London. It is home to many of
the world's richest peopleA billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
, and has some of the highest property prices in the world. In 2006, a four bedroomed apartment in Knightsbridge sold for over £25,000,000, and on street car parking spaces sell for £300,000 on a 94 year lease. In February 2007, the world's most expensive apartment at
One Hyde ParkOne Hyde Park is a major residential and retail complex located in London, United Kingdom. The development includes three retail units totalling and 86 residential properties marketed with prices starting at around £20 million...
, sold off plan for £100,000,000, and was bought by a
QatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
i Prince. The development is valued in excess of £4,000 per square foot (£43,000 per square metre). Fourteen of Britain's two hundred most expensive streets are in the district.
Knightsbridge is mostly made up of strictly controlled Conservation Areas and development land is difficult to find. Most properties offered by developers are refurbished flats and houses. Many of these now have huge basement extensions, accommodating an eclectic range of facilities from swimming pools to private nightclubs.
The principal landowners in the area are the
Duke of WestminsterThe title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. The current holder of the title is Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster....
and
Earl CadoganEarl Cadogan is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The Cadogan family descends from Major William Cadogan, a cavalry officer in Oliver Cromwell's army. His son Henry Cadogan was a barrister in Dublin. His eldest son William Cadogan was a noted soldier, politician...
. The two areas of aristocratic landholdings can be distinguished: red-brick
Queen Anne RevivalThe Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
buildings are mostly to be found on the
Cadogan EstatesCadogan Estates Ltd is a property company owned by the Earl Cadogan, one of the richest families in the United Kingdom. It is the main landlord in the central London districts of Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and is now the second largest of the surviving aristocratic freehold estates in central...
, whereas white stucco-fronted houses are mostly found on the Grosvenor Estate, built by
Thomas CubittThomas Cubitt , born Buxton, Norfolk, was the leading master builder in London in the second quarter of the 19th century, and also carried out several projects in other parts of England.-Background:...
.
The district is adjacent to Inner London's largest public park, Hyde Park.
Crime and terrorism
For centuries the area was renowned as the haunt of highwaymen, robbers and cutthroats targeting travellers on the western route out of London, but its fortunes were transformed in the 19th century.
However, the area has often been a target for high-profile crime. In 1980, the
Iranian Embassy siegeThe Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London. The gunmen took 26 people hostage—mostly embassy staff, but several visitors and a police officer, who had been guarding the embassy, were also...
took place in Knightsbridge, lasting several days. It ended when the
Special Air ServiceSpecial Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
stormed the building on live television. In 1983, three Christmas shoppers and three
Metropolitan PoliceThe Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
officers, evacuating Harrods, were killed by an
IRAThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
car-bomb placed outside the storeThe Harrods bombing was a car bombing that occurred at Harrods department store in London on 17 December 1983. The bomb had been planted by members of the Provisional IRA, although the IRA Army Council claimed that it had not authorised the attack. The IRA members had sent a warning 37 minutes...
. In 1987, the
Knightsbridge Security Deposit centre was the target of a robberyThe Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery took place on 12 July 1987 in Knightsbridge, England, part of the City of Westminster in London. This robbery, the Banco Central burglary at Fortaleza, and the $900 million stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq in 2003 are said to be the largest bank...
and the thieves left with a hoard worth £60 million. In 2005, 22-year-old beautician Clare Bernal was gunned down by her stalker and ex-boyfriend Michal Pech on the shopfloor of Harvey Nichols in front of colleagues and shoppers, before Pech fatally turned the gun on himself.
Many residential buildings are heavily covered by CCTV and are staffed by security guards, while railings or bars on lower floor windows are commonplace.
Buildings
To the north of the area, is the
Hyde Park BarracksThe Hyde Park Barracks are located in Knightsbridge in central London, U.K. on the southern edge of Hyde Park. Historically they were often known as Knightsbridge Barracks and this name is still sometimes used informally...
of the
Household CavalryThe term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
, with a distinctive 33 storey tower by Sir
Basil SpenceSir Basil Urwin Spence, OM, OBE, RA was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Modernist/Brutalist style.-Training:Spence was born in Bombay, India, the son of Urwin...
. The Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department is based in Walton Street.
Nearest places
- Brompton
- Belgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
- Chelsea
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
- South Kensington
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 west south-west of Charing Cross....
- Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
- Hyde Park
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
Nearest tube stations
The nearest
London Underground station is
KnightsbridgeKnightsbridge tube station is a London Underground station in Knightsbridge , The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is on the Piccadilly Line between South Kensington and Hyde Park Corner, and is in Travelcard Zone 1.-History:...
on the
Piccadilly lineThe Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
. (The former
Brompton Road tube stationBrompton Road tube station is a disused station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground. It is located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington.-History:...
closed in 1934.)
See also
- Royal Thames Yacht Club
The Royal Thames Yacht Club is the oldest sailing club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park....
, 60 Knightsbridge
- St Columba's Church of Scotland
St Columba's Church is one of the two London congregations of the Church of Scotland. The church building is located in Pont Street, Knightsbridge, near Harrod's department store....
, Pont Street
- Caledonian Club
The Caledonian Club is a members' club in central London, for Scots in London and their guests.- History :The club was founded in 1891 as a proprietary club, based in Chares II street, London SW1...
External links