Leonard Bentley
Chelsea Barracks
This is an anonymously published postcard dating from about 1910 showing the old Chelsea Barracks from Chelsea Bridge Road. The barracks were built by George Morgan in 1862 to house two battalions of infantry. This building was demolished in the early 1960s and two thirteen storey tower blocks were built to replace them. In 2005 it was decided to sell the site for housing with Westminster City Council stipulating that 50% be affordable housing. The site was purchased in 2007 by a Qatari company for nearly One billion pounds, their plan is to build seven garden squares containing what they call residences which I think are flats or apartments, Town Houses and Penthouses. The blurb on the company’s website claims that the site is the most coveted 12.8 acres in the world so where the affordable housing fits into that, I don’t know. The railings shown in the photograph have been retained and after refurbishment by a firm in Scotland they will be reinstated on site, the garrison chapel has also been retained and will form part of the new development.
Chelsea Barracks
This is an anonymously published postcard dating from about 1910 showing the old Chelsea Barracks from Chelsea Bridge Road. The barracks were built by George Morgan in 1862 to house two battalions of infantry. This building was demolished in the early 1960s and two thirteen storey tower blocks were built to replace them. In 2005 it was decided to sell the site for housing with Westminster City Council stipulating that 50% be affordable housing. The site was purchased in 2007 by a Qatari company for nearly One billion pounds, their plan is to build seven garden squares containing what they call residences which I think are flats or apartments, Town Houses and Penthouses. The blurb on the company’s website claims that the site is the most coveted 12.8 acres in the world so where the affordable housing fits into that, I don’t know. The railings shown in the photograph have been retained and after refurbishment by a firm in Scotland they will be reinstated on site, the garrison chapel has also been retained and will form part of the new development.