Elvaston Place is a street in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End 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 the advent of the ra ...

, London. Elvaston Place runs west to east from Gloucester Road to

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street i ...

. The High Commission of Gabon, London, is at number 27. The High Commission of Mauritius, London, is at number 32/33. The Embassy of Iraq, London, has its consular section at number 3.

History

Much of the street, 1-20 and 32–46, was built by the property developer Charles Aldin in the early 1860s. 26-31 were built in 1866–68. Miss Ironside's School was located at number 2.

Notable residents

* In 1868,

John Crawfurd John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a British physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and writer who served as the second and last resident of Singapore. Early life He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of Sam ...

, Scottish physician, colonial administrator, diplomat, and author, died at his home in the street. * From 1872 to his death in 1897, Liberal MP and Cabinet Minister Rt Hon A J Mundella lived at number 16. * In 1882, William Bence Jones, an Anglo-Irish agriculturist, died at his home in the street. * In 1884, General Sir David Russell died at his home in the street. * Until his death in 1894, General Sir Patrick MacDougall lived at number 22. * In 1895, Lieutenant General George Brydges Rodney died at his home in Elvaston Place. * In 1905, the artist

Edward Burra Edward John Burra CBE (29 March 1905 – 22 October 1976) was an English painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, best known for his depictions of the urban underworld, Black culture and the Harlem scene of the 1930s. Biography Early life Burra ...

was born there at his grandmother's house. * In 1920,

William Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket William Lee Plunket, 5th Baron Plunket (19 December 1864 – 24 January 1920) was a British diplomat and administrator. He was Governor of New Zealand from 1904 to 1910. Early life Born in Dublin, he was educated at Harrow and Trinity Col ...

died at his home at number 40. * In the late 1930s,

Geoffrey Wilkinson Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson FRS (14 July 1921 – 26 September 1996) was a Nobel laureate English chemist who pioneered inorganic chemistry and homogeneous transition metal catalysis. Education and early life Wilkinson was born at Springside, Todm ...

, the Nobel laureate English chemist, rented a room at number 4. * In 1941, the actor S. J. Warmington, who lived at number 39, died when his neighbourhood was showered with

incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

after he went out to help extinguish fires and was killed when a high-explosive bomb fell.
CWGC Casualty Record, Kensington Metropolitan Borough. * In 1945, the actor

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern (3 October 19112 May 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death ...

and his wife, Eve Mortimer, lived in a rented flat. * In 1945

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

rented a bedsitting room on the 2nd floor of 14 Elvaston Place, S. Kensington * From 1 January 1968 until at least May 1969, the musician

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...

lived in a basement flat at number 10, and his song ''Elvaston Place'' is about his time there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvaston Place Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea South Kensington