The not so wild west
Country Life UK|May 05, 2021
West Chelsea–the area between Cremorne Road and Sydney Street–is where the fortunes of this famous and much-loved area began, finds Carla Passino
Carla Passino
The not so wild west

HANDS clasped in his lap, Thomas More looks pensive, his gilded eyes turned upriver towards the Tower of London. Set in a pocket of greenery sheltered by neatly trimmed hedges, Leslie Cubitt Bevis’s statue stands as a tribute to religious freedom, but also to the first of the great minds that called old Chelsea—the roads that run on either side of Old Church Street—home.

Henry VIII’s Chancellor moved to the village (originally a Saxon settlement stretching around the Old Church) in 1520 and built himself a house in Beaufort Street, where he kept ‘many varieties of birds, an ape, a fox, a weasel, and a ferret’, according to his guest Erasmus of Rotterdam. It was from there that he was taken to the Tower to be beheaded for being ‘the King’s good servant, but God’s first’. The house has long been lost, but part of its former grounds are, fittingly, home to the Allen Hall Catholic Seminary: the grim concrete chapel has a Marmite appeal, but the gardens preserve some ancient mulberries thought to have been planted by the Lord Chancellor himself.

Part of More’s chapel at the Old Church also survives, although the building was all but destroyed by a parachute mine in April 1941, and another of his former homes still soars above Chelsea. This is Crosby Hall, where he lived between 1519 and 1523— except that, at the time, it stood in Bishopsgate. In 1910, the house was moved piece by piece to Cheyne Walk, where it remains, a slice of medieval London in SW3.

Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin May 05, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin May 05, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

COUNTRY LIFE UK DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 dak  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 dak  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 dak  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 dak  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 dak  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 dak  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 dak  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 dak  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 dak  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 dak  |
October 23, 2024