Cheyne Walk (pronounced ‘Chainee’) is a historic, unique and extremely prestigious road located on the northern bank of the River Thames in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
For nearly 300 hundred years, the houses, mansions and flats contained within this relatively small road, have been home to a ridiculous number of historically famous people, mainly from the worlds of the arts, music, politics and literature – and as a result there are at least 10 blue plaques on display commemorating its most famous residents.
Cheyne Walk basically stretches along the length of the Chelsea Embankment between the Albert Bridge and Battersea Bridge, and it takes its name from the Viscount of Newhaven, William Cheyne who owned most of the Chelsea district right up until the early 1700’s – in fact most of the houses were originally constructed throughout the 1700’s , but were extensively re-developed throughout the 1800’s, at the time when the Chelsea Embankment was built – up until that time, the majority of the properties were right alongside the banks of the Thames.
Each one of the houses in Cheyne Walk are unique in their architectural style, and behind each front door, because of the many interesting occupants over the years, there is more often than not– a story to tell.
So – my quest this week was to identify just a few of the properties that were once occupied by historically famous individuals – and this is what I came up with:-
No.3 Cheyne Walk – was once the home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his first wife, the model Anita Pallenberg – who resided there in the late 1960’s. Keith and Anita moved in to no. 3 in the summer of 1969, and the house was regularly busted by the Chelsea Drug Squad. In his biography Keith describes that he often used to wake up to find half the Drug Squad in his bedroom.
No.4 Cheyne Walk – was once the home of authoress George Eliot – and the house in which she died.
No.19 Cheyne Walk – was the London home of the renowned poet and playwright T.S. Eliot (he of ‘Cats’ fame)
No.24 Cheyne Walk – was the home of author Ian Fleming (he of ‘James Bond’ fame)– and it is said that he wrote the very first Bond novel ‘Casino Royale’ whilst living here.
No.27 Cheyne Walk – Was once the residence of the writer Bram Stoker who was the author of “Dracula”.
No.48 Cheyne Walk – Mick Jagger and his girlfriend of the time Marianne Faithfull, lived here throughout the late 1960’s
No.96 Cheyne Walk – was the London home of famous Victorian artist James Whistler for nearly 70 years.
No.96 Cheyne Walk was also, in 1972 – the site of a top secret meeting between the Willie Whitelaw of the Government and Gerry Adams & Martin McGuiness of the Provisional IRA – aimed at ending the violence in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately the talks didn’t resolve anything and sadly the violence continued.
No.98 Cheyne Walk – was once the home of civil engineer Sir Marc Brunel and his equally famous son Isambard Kingdom Brunel
No.103 Cheyne Walk – Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, used to reside at this house.
No.119 Cheyne Walk – was the home of the influential artist J.M.W. Turner – famous for his paintings of River Thames water scenes – from his home here he would have had an uninterrupted of view of activity on the River.
No.120 Cheyne Walk – was the first home of the famous suffragette activist Sylvia Pankhurst just after she left university.
There have been many, many more famous Cheyne Walk residents over the past couple centuries – a few of the more popularly known ones being:-
Politician – David Lloyd George
Author – Ken Follett
Chelsea FC Owner – Roman Abramovic
Footballer – Sol Campbell
NY Mayor – Michael Bloomberg
Billionaire – John Paul Getty
Footballer – George Best
Writer – Somerset Maughan
Composer – Vaughan Williams
Jazz Singer – George Melly
At the end of Cheyne Walk down by Battersea Bridge, a number of very exclusive (and obviously extremely expensive) ‘house boats’ are moored – which are more like mini-hotels.
Cheyne Walk may only be a small street within the metropolis – but it is certainly a significant address, and with its past residents – it is a location that is steeped in history, and well worth a visit.
So – having spent a few hours down with the ‘Chelsea Set’ and the ‘Sloanies’, and before setting off back home – I went and had a cheeky one at the ‘Coopers Arms’ in nearby Flood Street, just off the Kings Road. The site has been a boozer since 1831, and the interior still displays some of the original architrave window surrounds and moulded cornices. However, as the weather was nice, I necked down my ale in the beer garden where the locals were sipping their Pimms.
A street scene of Cheyne Walk – (note the old Victorian post box embedded in the wall)
An old photo of Cheyne Walk, as it was before the construction of the Chelsea Embankment
An old Cheyne Walk street name sign
Another street scene of Cheyne Walk
Cheyne Mews – that leads down to an area where there once stood a Manor House owned by Henry VIII
The plaque at Cheyne Mews – commemorating the former site where Henry VIII had a Manor House built – and th fact that mulberry trees were once planted there by Elizabeth I
A blue plaque commemorates the house were the authoress George Eliot once lived and died
No.98 Cheyne Walk – was once the home of civil engineer Sir Marc Brunel, and his equally famous son Isambard Kingdom Brunel
A close up of the blue plaque on display at the ‘Brunels’ old home
No.120 Cheyne Walk – was the first home of famous suffragette activist Sylvia Pankhurst
The blue plaque on display at the former home of Sylvia Pankhurst
No.96 Cheyne Walk – was the London home of the notable Victorian artist ‘James Whistler’ – who lived there for nearly 70 years
Th blue plaque on display at the previous home of artist James Whistler
No.48 Cheyne Walk – where the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and his then girlfriend Marianne Faithful, lived during the late 1960’s
Me – outside the house on Cheyne Walk that was once occupied by Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull
The entrance to No.27 Cheyne Walk – which was once the residence of author Bram Stoker who wrote “Dracula”
Again – No.27 Cheyne Walk – I think its one time resident Bram Stoker must have been trying to create some kind of Transylvania theme in the front garden
Me – outside No.27 Cheyne Walk – once the home of Dracula author Bram Stoker
No.103 Cheyne Walk – the one time home of Rolling Stone ‘Ronnie Wood’
No.3 Cheyne Walk – was once the home of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and then partner, the model Anita Pallenberg. They moved into the house in 1969 and the property was then suddenly regularly busted by the Chelsea Drug Squad
Not a ‘blue plaque’ this time, but a commemorative plaque displayed on the long time home of famous landscaoe artist J.M.W Turner – whose best works depicted activity scenes on the River Thames.
No.119 Cheyne Walk – which was the home of the influential artist J.M.W. Turner – famous for his paintings of River Thames scenes – From this house he would have had uninterrupted views of activity on the River.
No.10 Cheyne Walk – a long time residence of polititian ‘David Lloyd George’
No.24 Cheyne Walk – which was once the home of ‘James Bond’ creator ‘Ian Fleming’ – and it is said that he wrote the very first Bond novel ‘Casino Royale’ whilst living here.
An old b&w photo of what Cheyne Walk was like back in the Victorian era.
Me – ambling along Cheyne Walk
An old Victorian post-box that is still in use in Cheyne Walk
A remaining old street public notice on display in Cheyne Walk – from a time when there was real ‘horse-power’.
A view of Cheyne Walk (behind the trees on Chelsea Embankment) – as seen from Albert Bridge
Albert Bridge – which flanks the eastern end of Cheyne Walk
Another view of Albert Bridge – which flanks the eastern end of Cheyne Walk
An interesting notice on display on Albert Bridge
Battersea Bridge – which flanks the western end of Cheyne Walk
The view from Battersea Bridge – looking toward Albert Bridge – a distance of which actually defines the length of Cheyne Walk, which runs along the embankment side of it.
The house-boats moored on the Thames at the western end of Cheyne Walk
The expensive and exclusive house-boats moored at rthe western end of Cheyne Walk
The ‘Coopers Arms’ pub in nearby Flood Street, just off the Kings Road, Chelsea. The site has been a boozer since 1831, and its interior still displays a number of the original design features such as the window architraves and the moulded ceiling cornices.
Me – neckin’ down a ‘cheeky’ beer in the garden of the Coopers Arms pub – where I mingled with the Pimm’s sipping Chelsea Set locals 🙂
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Hi, Geoff – thanks for posting about Cheyne Walk.
I have found (in a diary) a reference to No. 3 Cheyne Walk. Lady Frances Compton lived there for some months in 1800; Eliza Chute, of The Vyne, visited almost daily (the diary is hers).
Lady Frances’ brother – Lord Northampton [1st Marquess of Northampton] – was Eliza’s brother-in-law; she and her three sisters cared deeply for Lady Frances, who was recovering from a long, debilitating illness. Perhaps her doctors suggested Chelsea as a retreat.
Your “walk,” descriptions, and old photos make me _see_ the street in a way I cannot do in person (I’m in the U.S.).
Hi Kelly,
Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to contact my London Shoes website – really appreciate it – and I’m really glad that you enjoyed my little ‘Cheyne Walk’ blog 👍
It’s receiving comments/feedback such as yours that makes my little London Shoes hobby, that I took up upon retirement almost 4 years ago now, all worthwhile.😊
Also – thank you so much for ‘sharing’ the fascinating additional info about the specific properties and their occupants – info such as that really helps bring a topic to life, and I am sure that there will be many a future viewer/reader of my Cheyne Walk blog, who will find your additional clarifications really interesting 👍
If you haven’t done so already, you will find approx 200 blogs listed within the ‘Archives’ section of the Main Menu of my London Shoes website – which I am sure that you will find equally as interesting as the Cheyne Walk one – and I hope you continue to follow and enjoy my publications (www.londonshoes.blog)
Once again, many thanks Kelly – stay safe
Kind regards……GEOFF (LONDON SHOES)
No. 98 was the home of actor John Mills and his author wife, Mary Hayley Bell in the late 1940s.