Earls Court
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Earls Court is a place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district located 3.1 miles (5 km) west south-west of Charing Cross. The Earls Court ward had a population of 9,659 according to the 2001 Census [1]. It is home to Earls Court Exhibition Centre, one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue.
Contents |
[edit] History
Earl's Court was once a rural area, covered with green fields and market gardens. For over 500 years the land, part of the ancient manor of Kensington, was owned by the De Vere family, Earls of Oxford and descendants of Aubrey De Vere, who followed William the Conqueror to England in 1066. The Earl held his Manorial Court where Old Manor Yard is now, just by the Underground station.[2] Earl's Court Farm is visible on Greenwood's map of London dated 1827.
The construction of the Metropolitan District Railway station, in 1865-9, was a catalyst for development. In the quarter century after 1867 Earl's Court was transformed into a densely populated suburb with 1,200 houses and two churches. Eardley Crescent and Kempsford Gardens were built between 1867 and 1873, building began in Earl's Court Square and Longridge Road in 1873, in Nevern Place in 1874, in Trebovir Road and Philbeach Gardens in 1876, and Nevern Square in 1880.[3]
From the 1950s the Earl's Court area was home to many non-English residents. During and after the War the area was nicknamed the "Polish Corridor" following an influx of Polish refugees. Students from the former colonies followed, and the Overseas Visitors Club attracted South Africans, Rhodesians and Australians. The nickname, "Kangaroo Alley", which is still sometimes heard, dates from this era. Arab, Iranian and Filipino migrants followed at the end of the 1960s. The many cheap hotels, hostels and bedsits made it particularly attractive to those arriving in London for the first time. Today, although the area remains international, the standard of housing has improved, many of the bedsits and hostels have been converted into private and housing association flats, and the proportion of long-term residents is much higher than was previously the case.[4]
[edit] Gay Nightlife
A corner of Earls Court is said to have preceded Soho as London's centre of gay nightlife, and there are still some businesses aimed mostly at gay men, including the well-known Coleherne pub. The Balans restaurant chain and the Clone Zone chain of shops, both aimed at a gay clientele, both originated in Old Brompton Road in Earls Court. The nearby Bromptons nightclub is popular with gay men.
In 1964, The Lord Ranelagh Pub (opposite the former Princess Beatrice Hospital) spearheaded the local demand for live entertainment. A young, non-gay, male band, The Downtowners, attracted considerable attention. They persuaded many of the local cross-dressers to come into the pub and perform. Thus the Queen of the Month contest was born.
Every Saturday night the pub was packed to capacity. The show ran from September 1964 until May 1965 when the News of the World ran an article entitled 'This show must not go on.' On that Sunday night the pub was so packed that every table and chair had to be removed. Crowds spilled out on to the pavement onto Old Brompton Road. The police closed the show. Many well known celebrities were among the clientele and the Lord Ranelagh is considered to have played a role in the history of gay liberation.
[edit] Local Attractions
The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre which opened in 1980 is the neighbourhood's local theatre. The Troubadour[[3] is a coffee house and a small music venue, which has hosted emerging talent since 1954 - including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Elvis Costello. Earl's Court Village has a number of Asian restaurants and Filipino supermarkets, many of which serve take-away food.
Within walking distance of High Street Kensington, Holland Park, Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College, Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert Museums, Earl's Court provides a relatively cheaper alternative in central London for tourists to stay and eat.
There are some impressive examples of early to mid Victorian architecture in the Earls Court ward. Gardens such as Bramham Gardens and Courtfield Gardens are beautiful traditional residential squares with many imposing properties fronting onto them. Collingham Road and Harrington Road, also have some unique buildings, many of them very large and currently used as Embassies. A little further north, just south of the Cromwell road, the tranquil conservation area comprising Collingham Place, Kenway Rd, Wallgrave Rd and Redfield Lane contains some fine examples of more modest terraced townhouses in a very picturesque setting with some fine floral displays.
[edit] Nearby
Nearest places:
Nearest tube station:
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Office for National Statistics Neighbourhood Statistics [1]
- ^ Richard Thames, Earl's Court and Brompton Past. Historical Publications, London, 2000
- ^ Survey of London. Vol XLII Southern Kensinton: Kensington Square to Earl's Court. General Editor Hermione Hobhouse. The Athlone Press, London, 1986.
- ^ Nevern Square Garden website [2]
[edit] References
- AA Illustrated Guide to Britain, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 5th edition, 1983, p.240-1.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
