VicLondon-Brompton Chelsea

Brompton & Chelsea, the West End

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District Traits

Interactive: Access x, Information x, Prestige x Reactive: Safety x, Awareness x, Stability x

Notable Locations

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Class: Working and Middle-class

Accessible by Kings Road and Fulham Road are the working class and middle-class neighbourhoods of Chelsea and Brompton. Both neighbourhoods are technically part of Kensington and the lands are owned by a hodgepodge of people. The largest landowners here are the Cadogan and Gunter families, as well as several charity foundations.

Both areas are dominated by cheap housing and charitable institutions. The largest employer and land holder here is Chelsea Hospital, which occupies almost a half-mile of grounds and buildings along the Chelsea Embankment of the Thames. The hospital grounds are a triangle, when viewed from above, bounded by Chelsea Bridge Road – the edge of Pimlico – and Pimlico Road. The hospital is home to the Chelsea Children’s Hospital, one of the better facilities in the city and a major purveyor of health care to underprivileged children.

A workhouse for the poor is positioned on Fulham Road and Limerston Street. The Chelsea Union is nearby on Kings Road, and provides for placement of skilled labourers in positions. It works closely with an infirmary for the poor a block away on Arthur Street.

Despite the wealth of charitable institutions, Chelsea is otherwise middle-class in character. The houses are mostly Georgian or pre-designed pattern houses like those in Hammersmith and Fulham. Many of the residents here either are artisans or work in the houses of the privileged in Belgravia, Kensington, or Marylebone.

Petty crime such as pick pocketing and burglary is common in this area, but there is little violent crime. Police presence is good, but not spectacular; much of it is centred on Hyde Park, and is strongest in the morning and on the weekends, when the rich are out for their rides. A robbery, for instance, might not even bring a police response and require the offended to nd the nearest police station. A major incident, however, would likely bring a military response, as there is a military barracks on Chelsea Bridge Road.

Awakened Locales

• The Walham Green Houses: Sanctum (Acknowledged) • Torch at the Crossroads. A rectangular block whose corners are four modest houses, this sanctum's boundaries are arguably the largest in London. The fences around the block entirely encompass its grounds, containing a tiny grove of trees screened from the view of others. It is also the meeting-place of the very secretive Guild of Naturists, a society of upper and middle class nudist artists who focus on neopagan and mystical themes in their artworks.