Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
History
Knightsbridge was originally a small hamlet or locality outside the City of London, between the villages of Chelsea, London (''Chelsey''), Kensington (''Kensing town'') and Charing. In the time of Edward I of England, the manor of Knightsbridge appertained to the abbey of Westminster.''London'', David Hughson, 1809 It was named after a crossing of the River Westbourne, which is now an Subterranean river. 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 UK and the Far East, Humphreys' Hall in Knightsbridge hosted Japanese Village, Knightsbridge in a setting built to resemble a traditional Japanese village. The exhibition was very popular, with over 250,000 visitors during its early months.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45909 British history online], 'Knightsbridge Green Area: Scotch Corner and the High Road', Survey of London: volume 45: Knightsbridge (2000), pp. 79–88 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".An advertisement from the ''Illustrated London News'', 3 January 1885, quoted in McLaughlin, [http://www.erudit.org/revue/ravon/2007/v/n48/017441ar.html para 10]. W.S. Gilbert and his wife attended the exhibition, which is said to have inspired him to write ''The Mikado''. When the Mikado requests of Ko-Ko the address of his son (Nanki-Poo) after Ko-Ko tells the Mikado that Nanki-Poo has "gone abroad," Ko-Ko replies that Nanki-Poo has gone to Knightsbridge. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
Geography
Knightsbridge is east of Exhibition Road and west of Sloane Street. Brompton Road, Beauchamp Place and the western section of Pont Street serve roughly as its southern border together with their adjacent gardens and squares such as Ovington Square, Lennox Gardens and Cadogan Square. Added to this the ultra-expensive Egertons and by necessary inclusion, Yeomans Row. South of this area, the district fades into Chelsea, London while Belgravia lies to the east and South Kensington to the west. Other areas nearby are Mayfair and Hyde Park, London. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
Economy
Knightsbridge is home to many expensive shops, including the department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols, and flagship stores of many British and international fashion houses, including those of London-based shoe designers Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik, and two Prada stores. The district also has banks that cater for rich individuals, 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 billionaire, 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 Park, sold off plan for £100,000,000, and was bought by a Qatari prince, and another apartment at the same place in February 2009, of almost the same the £ price was bought by an Afghanistani prince.[http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article1577451.ece "Sheikh shells out £100m for London's most expensive flat"] ''The Times'' 28 March 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007 The development is valued in excess of £4,000 per square foot (£43,000 per square metre). A 3-bedroom flat in Egerton Gardens sold for £5.4 million in 2013. Fourteen of Britain's two hundred most expensive streets are in the district.[http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article1392253.ece The Times, 2007]
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 Westminster, Earl Cadogan and Wellcome Trust. The two areas of aristocratic landholdings can be distinguished: red-brick Queen Anne Style architecture buildings are mostly to be found on the Cadogan Estates, whereas white stucco-fronted houses are mostly found on the Grosvenor Estate, built by Thomas Cubitt.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=28695#s8 ''Settlement and building: From 1865 to 1900'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 12: Chelsea (2004), pp. 66–78]. Retrieved 11 June 2007
The district is adjacent to Inner London's largest public park, Hyde Park; it contains the park behind the impressive Brompton Oratory. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
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 siege took place in Knightsbridge, lasting several days. It ended when the Special Air Service stormed the building on live television. In 1983, three Christmas shoppers and three Metropolitan Police Service officers were killed by an Provisional Irish Republican Army Harrods bombing.[http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1376054,00.html "Bomb unauthorised says IRA"] ''The Guardian'', 19 December 1983 In 1987, the Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery 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. The case attracted extensive coverage in the media, and Clare's mother Patricia has since led a campaign to address flaws in the system which allowed her daughter's murder to happen.
Many residential buildings are heavily covered by CCTV and are staffed by security guards, while railings or bars on lower floor windows are commonplace. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
Buildings
To the north of the area, is the Hyde Park Barracks, London of the Household Cavalry, with a distinctive 33 storey tower by Sir Basil Spence. The Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department is based in Walton Street. The Embassy of Libya, London is located at 15 Knightsbridge, the Embassy of France, London at no 58 and the Embassy of Kuwait, London at 2 Albert Gate, just off Knightsbridge.
It contains the Victoria and Albert Museum. On the religious side it contains the impressive Brompton Oratory (Catholic cathedral, Brompton Road) and the CoE Holy Trinity Brompton behind it, a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Exhibition Road, the Dormition Cathedral, London in Ennismore Gardens, and St Columba's Church, London. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
Transport
Knightsbridge takes its name from the road that runs along the south side of Hyde Park, London, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Up to Brompton Road, it is a part of the A4 road (Great Britain), while the remainder is part of the A315 road.
It is served by Knightsbridge tube station on the Piccadilly line. Brompton Road tube station closed in 1934. Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
See also
* Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge
* St Columba's Church, London, Pont Street
* Caledonian Club Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
References
Knightsbridge is an exclusive residential and retail district in west London south of Hyde Park, London. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two "international centres" in London, alongside the West End of London.Greater London Authority, [http://www.london.gov.uk/archive/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_5.pdf The London Plan: The Sub Regions] In modern days Knightsbridge itself is an area mainly defined by Estate Agents to denote the wider expensive area around Harrods. As such it is made up of Knightsbridge in the North, much of Brompton for the main central part and parts of Belgravia in the East. Here is the [http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=527500&y=179500&z=120 Map] showing this.
External links
*[http://www.westminsteronline.org/~ka/ The Knightsbridge Association]
*[http://www.thepinnaclelist.com/blog/directory/knightsbridge-district-residence-london-england-uk-photo-gallery/ Knightsbridge District Residence - Photo Gallery]
Category:Areas of London
Category:Districts of the City of Westminster
Category:International centres of London
Category:Knightsbridge
