Early origins
Sloane Street was created by Henry Holland for the 1st Earl Cadogan, Charles ‘Sloane’ (1728-1807), who sold the development lease to Holland in 1777.
Before 1777, travellers wanting to get from Knightsbridge to the King’s Road would have to trudge a kilometre across a patchwork of fields.
The route would take them dangerously close to the infamous Five Fields area to the east – what is now Belgravia was then a marshy no-man’s-land home to brigands and highwaymen, just across the Westbourne river. At that time, on the eastern side of what is now Sloane Square was Blandel or ‘Bloody’ Bridge, so called because of an infamous murder committed on the spot in 1590.
The Westbourne river forms the ancient boundary between the lands of Chelsea, under the stewardship of Cadogan to the west and the Grosvenor Estate to the east. The river still exists, although now runs underground.
At the end of the 18th century, Holland (architect, builder and father-in-law to ‘Capability’ Brown) developed over 90 acres of Chelsea, designing the street plan for Sloane Street, Sloane Square and Hans Place, as well as many other streets in the locale, as part of the development named Hans Town.
The late 19th century saw Sloane Street become a busy shopping centre serving the fashionable local residents
A fashionable address
Sadly, nearly all of Holland’s original elegant Georgian houses have been swept away by later developments. However, No.123 Sloane Street is one of the few surviving examples – a house that would be familiar to novelist Jane Austen.
In 1811, Austen lived with her brother Henry at No.64, where she worked on the proofs of Sense and Sensibility. Hans Town was a very fashionable place to live, and Knightsbridge became a magnet for shopping – laying the early foundations for the future growth of large stores.
An iconic shopping destination
Harvey Nichols can trace its history back to Benjamin Harvey’s 1831 shop on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street, in exactly the same spot Harvey Nichols still sits. Much has expanded since then, and the frontage of Harvey Nichols today was constructed in the 1880s.
The latter part of the 19th century saw much development in Knightsbridge and the locality of Sloane Street. An increasingly busy shopping centre serving the fashionable local residents, Sloane Street boasted a variety of drapers, tailors, hosiers and milliners – see image, top, of Sloane Street circa 1900.
Staying in style
Luxurious hotels also sprang up, such as The Cadogan Hotel at No.75 Sloane Street, which opened in 1887. Lillie Langtry, a famous actress and close friend of King Edward VII, lived next door to the hotel. When the hotel expanded, incorporating Lillie’s former home, she stayed in her old bedroom (Room 109). The Cadogan Hotel was also the site of Oscar Wilde’s arrest in 1895, immortalised in John Betjeman’s poem.