The Project Gutenberg eBook, Chelsea, by G. E.(Geraldine Edith) Mitton, Edited by Sir Walter BesantThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: ChelseaThe Fascination of LondonAuthor: G. E. (Geraldine Edith) MittonEditor: Sir Walter BesantRelease Date: November 28, 2008 [eBook #27356]Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: ISO-8859-1***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHELSEA*** E-text prepared by Susan Skinnerand the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team(http://www.pgdp.net) THE FASCINATIONOF LONDONCHELSEAIN THIS SERIES.Cloth, price 1s. 6d. net; leather, price 2s. net, each.CHELSEA.By G. E. Mitton. Edited by Sir Walter Besant.WESTMINSTER.By Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton.THE STRAND DISTRICT.By Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton.HAMPSTEAD.By G. E. Mitton. Edited by Sir Walter Besant.CHELSEA OLD CHURCH.After an etching by Miss E. Piper.The Fascination of LondonCHELSEABYG. E. MITTONEDITED BYSIR WALTER BESANTLONDONADAM & CHARLES BLACK1902PREFATORY NOTEA survey of London, a record of the greatest of all cities, that should preserve her history, her historical and literaryassociations, her mighty buildings, past and present, a book that should comprise all that Londoners love, all that theyought to ...
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Chelsea The Fascination of London Author: G. E. (Geraldine Edith) Mitton Editor: Sir Walter Besant Release Date: November 28, 2008 [eBook #27356] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHELSEA***
E-text prepared by Susan Skinner and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
IN THIS SERIES. Cloth, price 1s. 6d. net; leather, price 2s. net, each. CHELSEA. By G. E. Mitton. Edited by Sir Walter Besant. WESTMINSTER. By Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton. THE STRAND DISTRICT. By Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton. HAMPSTEAD. By G. E. Mitton. Edited by Sir Walter Besant.
THE FASCINATION OF LONDON CHELSEA
HCLEESAOLDCHURCH.
After an etching by Miss E. Piper.
The Fascination of London
CHELSEA
BY G. E. MITTON
EDITED BY SIR WALTER BESANT
LONDON ADAM & CHARLES BLACK 1902
PREFATORY NOTE
A survey of London, a record of the greatest of all cities, that should preserve her history, her historical and literary associations, her mighty buildings, past and present, a book that should comprise all that Londoners love, all that they ought to know of their heritage from the past—this was the work on which Sir Walter Besant was engaged when he died. As he himself said of it: “This work fascinates me more than anything else I’ve ever done. Nothing at all like it has ever been attempted before. I’ve been walking about London for the last thirty years, and I find something fresh in it every day.” He had seen one at least of his dreams realized in the People’s Palace, but he was not destined to see this mighty work on London take form. He died when it was still incomplete. His scheme included several volumes on the history of London as a whole. These he finished up to the end of the eighteenth century, and they form a record of the great city practically unique, and exceptionally interesting, compiled by one who had the qualities both of novelist and historian, and who knew how to make the dry bones live. The volume on the eighteenth century, which Sir Walter called a “very big chapter indeed, and particularly interesting,” will shortly be issued by Messrs. A. and C. Black, who had undertaken the publication of the Survey. Sir Walter’s idea was that the next two volumes should be a regular and systematic perambulation of London by different persons, so that the history of each parish should be complete in itself. This was a very original feature in the great scheme, and one in which he took the keenest interest. Enough has been done of this section to warrant its issue in the form originally intended, but in the meantime it is proposed to select some of the most interesting of the districts and publish them as a series of booklets, attractive alike to the local inhabitant and the student of London, because much of the interest and the history of London lie in these street associations. For this purpose Chelsea, Westminster, the Strand, and Hampstead have been selected for publication first, and have been revised and brought up to date. The difficulty of finding a general title for the series was very great, for the title desired was one that would express concisely the undying charm of London—that is to say, the continuity of her past history with the present times. In streets and stones, in names and palaces, her history is written for those who can read it, and the object of the series is to bring forward these associations, and to make them plain. The solution of the difficulty was found in the words of the man who loved London and planned the great scheme. The work “fascinated” him, and it was because of these associations that it did so. These links between past and present in themselves largely constitute The Fascination of London. G. E. M.
CONTENTS
PAGE vii
1
Prefatory Note PART I Chelsea South of the King's Road PART II Chelsea North of the King's Road PART III The Royal Hospital and Ranelagh Gardens67 Index97