This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? Excessive Violence Sexual Content Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id: WHEBN0000542549 Reproduction Date:
South Kensington is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area 2.4 miles (3.9 km) west- south-west of Charing Cross. It has become the epicentre of the rapidly growing French community in London.
It is hard to define boundaries for South Kensington, but a common definition is the commercial area around the tube station and the adjacent garden squares and streets (such as Thurloe Square, opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum). The smaller neighbourhood around Gloucester Road tube station can also be considered a part, and Albertopolis around Exhibition Road, which includes the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Baden-Powell House. Other institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal College of Art, the Royal College of Music are within the City of Westminster, but considered to be in South Kensington. Although the postcode SW7 mainly covers South Kensington, some parts of Knightsbridge are also covered.
Neighbouring the equally affluent centres of Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Kensington, South Kensington covers some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. It is home to large numbers of French expatriates (mainly employed in the City, the financial centre), but also Spanish, Italian, American, and Middle-Eastern citizens. A significant French presence is evidenced by the location of the consulate, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle - a large French secondary school opposite the Natural History Museum - and the French Institute, home to a French cinema. There are several French bookshops and cafes in the area.
The nearest Tube stations are South Kensington and Gloucester Road.
The area was largely undeveloped until the mid-19th century, being an agricultural area supplying London with fruit and vegetables. Following the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, an 87-acre (352,000 m²) area around what is now Exhibition Road was purchased by the commissioners of the exhibition, in order to create a home for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, resulting in the foundation of the museums and university here. Adjacent landowners began to develop their land in the 1860s as a result of the creation of new roads and a boom in the development of areas around London, and the absorption of South Kensington into London was sealed by the arrival of the Underground at Gloucester Road and South Kensington in 1868, linking the area directly to the main railway termini and to the political, commercial and financial hearts of the city in Westminster, the West End and the City of London.
Notable residents have included:
City of London, United Kingdom, Kent, London Assembly, Surrey
Greater London, Kensington, Daily Mail and General Trust, Chelsea, London, South Kensington
British Library, British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Natural History Museum, London, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
University College London, University of Cambridge, King's College London, London School of Economics, University of London
Isle of Man, India, Canada, European Union, British Overseas Territories
United States, United Kingdom, London, Nevada, Evander Holyfield
South Kensington, Royal Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Imperial College London
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London, Daily Mail and General Trust, Kensington Gardens, South Kensington
United Kingdom, London, South Kensington, Iran, The Times