39-458: South Kensington 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 the advent of the railways in the late 19th century and the opening (and shutting) and naming of local tube stations. The area has many museums and cultural landmarks with
78-548: A 17-minute operation, bringing out the hostages and the one surviving gunman who was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison for his part in the offences. The first church to rise among the fields at Brompton was the socially notable, but widely considered architecturally ugly, Holy Trinity Brompton in 1829. It served a wide area from the Kensington Canal in the west to the Kensington Turnpike in
117-610: A 2001 population of 1,525,000. The sub-region was replaced in 2008 with a new structure which amalgamated inner and outer boroughs together. This was altered in 2011 when a new Central London sub-region was created, now including the City of London and excluding Wandsworth. The 1901 Census defined Central London as the City of London and the metropolitan boroughs (subdivisions that existed from 1900 to 1965) of Bermondsey , Bethnal Green , Finsbury , Holborn , Shoreditch , Southwark , Stepney , St Marylebone and Westminster . During
156-606: A British family-owned hand built sportscar company operates a main dealership out of Astwood Mews in South Kensington. Christie's auction house had a second London salesroom in the Old Brompton Road, South Kensington from 1975, which primarily handled the middle market. Christie's permanently closed the South Kensington salesroom in July 2017 as part of their restructuring plans announced March 2017. The closure
195-469: A French bookshop and many international cafés in the area, it has been called "Paris's 21st arrondissement". In April and May 1980 a group of six Iranian Arabs entered the Iranian Embassy in South Kensington and took the staff, visitors and a diplomatic policeman hostage. There followed a six-day siege during which one of the hostages was killed. The British SAS finally stormed the building in
234-513: A chain. Residents have included: Central London Central London is the innermost part of London , in England , spanning the City of London and several boroughs . Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteristics are understood to include a high-density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and
273-510: A collection of minerals, maps and mining equipment made by Sir Henry De la Beche , and opened in 1841. The museum also provided some student places for the study of mineralogy and metallurgy . Sir Henry was the director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and when the collections outgrew the premises the museum and the survey were placed on an official footing, with government assistance. The Museum of Practical Geology and
312-453: A concentration of regionally, nationally and internationally significant organisations and facilities. Road distances to London are traditionally measured from a central point at Charing Cross (in the City of Westminster ), which is marked by the statue of King Charles I at the junction of the Strand , Whitehall and Cockspur Street , just south of Trafalgar Square . The central area
351-603: A high number of visitors, such as the Natural History Museum , the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum . Adjacent affluent centres such as Knightsbridge , Chelsea and Kensington , have been considered as some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. As is often the case in other areas of London, the boundaries for South Kensington are arbitrary and have altered with time. This
390-790: Is distinguished, according to the Royal Commission , by the inclusion within its boundaries of Parliament and the Royal Palaces, the headquarters of Government, the Law Courts , the head offices of a very large number of commercial and industrial firms, as well as institutions of great influence in the intellectual life of the nation such as the British Museum , the National Gallery , the Tate Gallery ,
429-585: Is due in part to usage arising from the tube stops and other landmarks which developed across Brompton. A contemporary definition is the commercial area around the South Kensington tube station and the adjacent garden squares and streets (such as Onslow Square and Thurloe Square , opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum ). To the north is the Kensington Gore , to the south the winding Fulham Road and streets leading to Sloane Square and to
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#1732766130867468-623: The Brompton Hospital and the New Cancer Hospital along nearby Fulham Road. Adjacent landowners began to develop the land in the 1860s as a result of the transport hub and the general urbanisation boom west of London, and led to the eventual absorption of Brompton and its station into Kensington. It was sealed by the arrival of the Metropolitan and District Railways at Brompton, but for public relations reasons, it
507-509: The City of Westminster , but considered to be "within range of South Kensington". Although the SW7 postcode mainly covers South Kensington, it goes into Knightsbridge . The only Royal Mail Post Office in South Kensington closed in 2019. Following the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park , an 87-acre (35 ha) area, west of what is now Exhibition Road, was purchased by the commissioners of
546-843: The Henry Cole Wing of the Victoria and Albert Museum . The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII on 8 July 1909. The RSM was the last of many buildings that Webb designed for the Albertopolis area (including the Cromwell Road frontage of the V&;A ) and, some would argue, his least resolved. Constructed in Portland stone , the entrance is formed by a three-storey, semicircular niche, flanked by two memorials (sculpted by Paul Raphael Montford , 1916–1920) to Alfred Beit and Julius Wernher who were major benefactors to
585-769: The Herbert Commission and the subsequent passage of the London Government Bill , three unsuccessful attempts were made to define an area that would form a central London borough . The first two were detailed in the 1959 Memorandum of Evidence of the Greater London Group of the London School of Economics . "Scheme A" envisaged a central London borough, one of 25, consisting of the City of London, Westminster, Holborn, Finsbury and
624-777: The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum , Polish Hearth Club , London Goethe-Institut , the Royal Albert Hall , Imperial College London , the Royal Geographical Society , the Royal College of Art , the Royal College of Music and between 1903 and 1991, the Royal College of Organists , West London Air Terminal , the Ismaili Centre, London and the late comer 1960s Baden-Powell House some of which are administratively within
663-953: The Second World War and after, as well as latterly Spanish, Italian, and American expatriates. Some residents also have a Middle Eastern origin. The French presence is emphasised by the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle , the French Institute , housing a theatre now used as the Ciné Lumière with nearby the Alliance française , as well as the Consulate General of France, not far from the French Embassy in Knightsbridge . With
702-581: The University of London , the headquarters of the national ballet and opera, together with the headquarters of many national associations, the great professions, the trade unions, the trade associations, social service societies, as well as shopping centres and centres of entertainment which attract people from the whole of Greater London and farther afield. In many other respects the central area differs from areas farther out in London. The rateable value of
741-442: The 1961 census. It consisted of the City of London, all of Westminster, Holborn and Finsbury; and the inner parts of Shoreditch, Stepney, Bermondsey, Southwark, Lambeth, Chelsea, Kensington, Paddington, St Marylebone and St Pancras. The population was estimated to be 270,000. 51°30′N 0°08′W / 51.50°N 0.13°W / 51.50; -0.13 Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises
780-500: The City of London, most of Westminster and the inner parts of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth. It is described as "a unique cluster of vitally important activities including central government offices, headquarters and embassies, the largest concentration of London's financial and business services sector and the offices of trade, professional bodies, institutions, associations, communications, publishing, advertising and
819-480: The City of London, the whole of Finsbury and Holborn, most of Westminster and Southwark, parts of St Pancras, St Marylebone, Paddington and a small part of Kensington. The area had an estimated population of 400,000 and occupied 8,000 acres (32 km ). During the passage of the London Government Bill an amendment was put forward to create a central borough corresponding to the definition used at
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#1732766130867858-695: The Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts opened in a purpose-designed building in Jermyn Street in 1851. The officers of the Geological Survey became the lecturers and professors of the School of Mines. The Royal College of Chemistry was merged into it in 1853. The name was changed in 1863 to the Royal School of Mines, and was moved to South Kensington in 1872. In 1907,
897-625: The area was afflicted with traffic congestion and likened to a series of traffic islands. Modern development of the area is the result of the creation of the temporary Albertopolis reached by Exhibition Road, whose terrain now includes the Natural History Museum , the Geological Museum , the Science Museum , the Victoria and Albert Museum, London Oratory and since 1915, the Lycée Français . Other local institutions include
936-513: The building in which former school was housed, as are its departments still today, and the student body representing students within those departments. Designed by Sir Aston Webb , the RSM building is classical in style with ionic pilasters. It was erected between 1909 and 1913 specifically to house the school, which was previously resident in the Huxley Building on Exhibition Road, now
975-557: The central area is exceptionally high. Its day population is very much larger than its night population. Its traffic problems reach an intensity not encountered anywhere else in the Metropolis or in any provincial city, and the enormous office developments which have taken place recently constitute a totally new phenomenon. Starting in 2004, the London Plan defined a 'Central Activities Zone' policy area, which as of 2008 comprised
1014-522: The departments associated with the former school, and the Grade II listed Edwardian building by Sir Aston Webb , which is viewed as a classic of academic architecture. The building and relevant student union still carry the name. The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts. The School developed from the Museum of Economic Geology ,
1053-551: The departments of Earth Science and Engineering , and Materials at Imperial College London . The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioengineering are also housed within the building. The school as an organisation no longer exists, having been incorporated into the Faculty of Engineering since 2003. Today the Royal School of Mines refers to both
1092-463: The exhibition, in order to create a base for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, leading to the foundation of the Royal Albert Hall , three museums, the Royal School of Mines later a world renowned technological university, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Organists there. The market gardens of the rural area began to make way for a series of hospitals, such as
1131-507: The inner parts of St Marylebone, St Pancras, Chelsea, Southwark and Lambeth. The boundary deviated from existing lines to include all central London railway stations , the Tower of London and the museums, such that it included small parts of Kensington, Shoreditch, Stepney and Bermondsey. It had an estimated population of 350,000 and occupied 7,000 acres (28 km ). "Scheme B" delineated central London, as one of 7 boroughs, including most of
1170-486: The media". For strategic planning, since 2011 there has been a Central London sub-region comprising the boroughs of Camden , Islington , Kensington and Chelsea , Lambeth , Southwark , Westminster and the City of London . From 2004 to 2008, the London Plan included a sub-region called Central London comprising Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and Westminster. It had
1209-419: The north. The first incumbent, one Percival Frye, just happened to be the nephew of Archdeacon Alfred Pott , vicar of the neighbouring Kensington parish. It was followed by: The area is the subject of Donovan 's song "Sunny South Kensington", about the area's reputation as the hip part of London in the 1960s. Roman Polanski 's film, Repulsion (1965) was partly filmed in South Kensington. Morgan cars ,
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1248-452: The school was incorporated into Imperial College of Science and Technology, but retained its own identity as a "constituent college". In 2001 it was announced Imperial was to transition from a constituent college structure to a faculty structure, a move that was completed in 2003. The last Dean of the Royal School of Mines was Professor John Monhemius before the position was abolished. The Royal School of Mines has since come to refer to both
1287-475: The school. The western wing of the building is named after Webb, while the eastern end is named after the Goldsmiths' Company who helped to finance the building of the RSM. The distinctively Edwardian and academic styling cues used in the building's architecture have led to the RSM appearing in a number of film and television productions: The RSM Union represents the interests and organises events for
1326-539: The second oldest rugby varsity match in the world. The RSM Union is also responsible for looking after the RSM Mascots, Davy and Clementine II. Davy is a 3-foot (0.91 m) tall, 130-pound (60 kg) davy lamp, a type of mining lamp , and has been a mascot since 1965. Clementine II is a 1926 Morris T-Type One Ton Truck, bought by the RSM Union in 1960 to replace their previous motorised mascot Clementine I,
1365-405: The students studying at the departments associated with the Royal School of Mines. It is part of the wider college union , and has a formal constitution guiding its activities around: The union runs sports teams, societies and events which span the academic year from October to July. The highlight of the sporting and social calendar is the annual Bottle Match against Camborne School of Mines ,
1404-601: The vicinity, thus adding a link directly to the political, commercial and financial heart of the capital in Westminster , the West End and the City of London , but owing to under use, it was shut in 1934. During the Second World War it was used by the 26th (London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade . Since the First World War it has become a cosmopolitan area attracting Belgian and French refugees, but also Poles during
1443-547: The west, the residential and hotel area of Gloucester Road . South Kensington station lies on the junction of several thoroughfares: principally the Old Brompton Road , Harrington Road and Pelham Street and a stone's throw from the arterial Cromwell Road . It is furthermore criss-crossed by the Exhibition Road and the stately Queen's Gate and Prince Consort Road . Until road lay-out improvements in 2012,
1482-420: Was due in part to a considerable decrease in sales between 2015 and 2016 in addition to the company expanding its online presence. Tim Waterstone opened his first eponymous Waterstones bookshop in 1982 in Old Brompton Road. It has given way to a Little Waitrose . Caffè Nero also started life as a single coffee shop in Old Brompton Road, opened by Ian Semp in 1990. It was subsequently bought out and became
1521-488: Was re-named "South Kensington" in 1868. To facilitate public access to the museums, the railway company built a pedestrian tunnel directly from the station concourse to an exit halfway up Exhibition Road, next to the now defunct Royal Mail sorting office, to avoid crowds having to cross the Cromwell Road. In 1906 the new Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway company opened the Brompton Road tube station in
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