Pelham Crescent is a circa 1825 Georgian crescent of houses in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

, London SW7, England, designed by architect

George Basevi Elias George Basevi FRS (1 April 1794 – 16 October 1845) was a British architect who worked in both Neoclassical and Gothic Revival styles. A pupil of Sir John Soane, his designs included Belgrave Square in London, and the Fitzwilliam Mus ...

. Numbers 1–14 and 15–27 are separately Grade II* listed. The private

communal gardens A communal garden (often used in the plural as communal gardens) is a (normally formal) garden for shared use by a number of local residents, typically in an urban setting. The term is especially used in the United Kingdom. The centre of many cit ...

in the centre of Pelham Crescent are in size. The selling of garden keys to the residents of Pelham Crescent funds the maintenance of the garden. The lessees of 1-27 Pelham Crescent and 1-29 and 2-18 Pelham Place had access to the gardens as a right of their leases until the leases expirations in 1932. The freehold of the garden is owned by the Smith's Charity Estate (now owned by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

). The average value of a house on the mews was £7.3 million in 2020. Pelham Crescent 01

Actor-manager

Nigel Playfair Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turne ...

's former residence at No. 26 is marked by a

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

blue plaque erected in 1965 and Francois Guizot's former home at 21 is commemorated by an

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

blue plaque placed in 2001.

Notable residents

*No. 7 —

Edward John Trelawny Edward John Trelawny (13 November 179213 August 1881) was a British biographer, novelist and adventurer who is best known for his friendship with the Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. Trelawny was born in England to a family ...

, poet, 1861 to 1881 *No. 10 —

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and

Mary Anne Keeley Mary Anne Keeley, ''née'' Goward (22 November 1805 – 12 March 1899) was an English actress and actor-manager. Life Mary Ann Goward was born at Ipswich, her father was a brazier and tinman. Her sister Sarah Judith Goward was the mother of Lydi ...

, actors *No. 11 — George Godwin the elder, architect *No. 21 — François Guizot, politician and author *No. 22 — Moses Margoliouth, Hebrew scholar and Christian convert from Judaism, later Georges d'Oultremont and Baron Jean de Blommaert, Belgian Army officers and resistance organisers in World War II *No. 25 —

Charles James Mathews Charles James Mathews (26 December 1803 – 24 June 1878) was a British actor. He was one of the few British actors to be successful in French-speaking roles in France. A son of the actor Charles Mathews, he achieved a greater reputation than ...

, actor and impresario from 1865 to 1870 *No. 26 —

, actor-manager The publisher

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

lived in Pelham Crescent for 25 years.

References

External links

LondonGardensOnline - Pelham Crescent
1825 establishments in England Communal gardens Garden squares in London George Basevi buildings Grade II* listed houses in London Houses completed in 1825 Houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea South Kensington {{London-struct-stub