VicLondon-Belgravia
Belgravia, the West End
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District Traits
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| Interactive: Access x, Information x, Prestige x Reactive: Safety x, Awareness x, Stability x |
Notable Locations
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Class: xxx
In 1826, Thomas Cubitt bought nineteen acres of Five Fields, the area south of Hyde Park on the boundary of Westminster. He developed the area into the series of ne squares and houses that make up Belgravia. The houses were quickly bought by the rich and connected. The neighbourhood is only a few minutes’ walk from Westminster, the clubs and theatre district of Mayfair, and the famed Rotten Row of Hyde Park.
On Knightsbridge Road, which runs along the southern edge of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, a street market appears every morning, save Sundays, at about ve o’clock. The stalls go up and wheelbarrows are rolled in along the street near Hyde Park Corner. Just about everything can be had at the market – fresh sh from the Thames, fresh milk and cheese from the farms in Acton and Ealing, and other cheap goods. Flower and match girls ply their wares. Charity organizations have people out begging for alms. And police are vigilant for pickpockets. Benjamin Disraeli calls the area “monotonous” due to the regularity of architecture. This was one of the rst districts designed and built to plan – the houses all have a similar look, and surround paved streets with trees planned at regular intervals. The Squares all have a central park with wrought-iron fencing, a few benches for people to rest and relax, and orderly gardens of trees and owers. Be it Cadogan Place, Belgrave Place, or Eaton Place, the streets and buildings all run together.
Belgravia is bounded by Hyde Park and St. James Park to the north, Sloane Street to the west, and Buckingham Palace Road and the palace gardens on the east. The streets are wide, paved, and not overly busy, save for the main arteries of Knightsbridge, Grosvenor Place, and the very busy Victoria Station at the corner of where Victoria Street, Vauxhall, and Buckingham Palace Road meet Grosvenor Place.
The residents here are wealthy, be they commoner or aristocracy. As a result, police presence is high and crime fairly low. The region is reasonably quiet, compared to the rest of the city, with only taxi and carriage traf c by and large. There are several hospitals and chapels in Belgravia, and a number of quite good coffeehouses. On Grosvenor Road, near Vauxhall Bridge, one can also nd the British Museum of Art.
Awakened Locales
- Hyde Towers: Sanctum (Acknowledged) • The Inficiunti. A tall and imposing house across the street from Hyde Park, with two distinct towers in its forward corners. Its gardens are lushly overgrown, and its windows almost always draped.
