View allAll Photos Tagged SW3
Promenades & Streetscapes
Chelsea, London SW3
------------------------------
The story behind this Avenue and its name goes back to the restoration of Charles II: he was the founder of the Chelsea Hospital (seen in the background) erected after the model of the Invalides, in Paris, which was a foundation of Louis XIV, who was a first cousin who gave Charles exile in France. After the King's Restauration and the foundation of the Chelsea Hospital, the Royal Avenue was meant to be a grand urban plan which would cut a long access through London, from Kensington Palace to the Hospital: that will have involved demolishing houses in the neighbouring villages of Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Kensington,
In face of fierce popular opposition, the King relented and the avenue remained only a few hundred yards long, although it maintained its grand name, fit for a grand accomplishment, which was stillborn.