King's Road or Kings Road, known popularly as The King's Road or The KR, is a major, well-known street in west London, England. It is traditionally associated with 1960s style, and fashion figures such as Mary Quant and Vivienne Westwood.
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Location
- King's Road is at coordinates 51°29′15″N 0°10′08″W / 51.48737°N 0.168874°WCoordinates: 51°29′15″N 0°10′08″W / 51.48737°N 0.168874°W
King's Road runs for just under 2 miles (3.2 km) through Chelsea, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, from Sloane Square in the east (on the border with Belgravia and Knightsbridge) and through the Moore Park estate on the border of Chelsea and Fulham opposite Stamford Bridge. Shortly after crossing Stanley bridge the road passes a slight kink at the junction with Waterford Road in Fulham, where it then becomes New King's Road, continuing to Putney Bridge; its western end is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
History
King's Road derives its name from its function as a private road used by Charles II to travel to Kew. It remained a private royal road until 1830, but people with connections were able to use it. Some houses date from the early 18th century. Thomas Arne lived at No. 215 and is believed to have composed "Rule Britannia" there. Ellen Terry lived in the same house from 1904–1920, and is commemorated by a blue plaque.
In 1876, the world's first artificial ice rink, the Glaciarium, opened just off King's Road, and later that year it relocated to a building on the street.
King's Road was home in the 1960s to the Chelsea Drugstore (originally a chemist, a pharmacy, with a stylised chrome-and-neon soda fountain upstairs, later a public house; more recently the site became a McDonalds) and in the 1970s to Malcolm McLaren's boutique, Let It Rock, which was renamed SEX in 1974 and then Seditionaries in 1977. During the hippie and punk eras, it was a centre for counterculture, but is now gentrified. It is Chelsea's high street and one of the most fashionable shopping streets in London. It has been criticised for losing its character and just having high street chains. Celebrated boutiques were Granny Takes a Trip and Malcolm McLaren's shop SEX (later Seditionaries).
484 King's Road was headquarters of Swan Song Records, the company owned by Led Zeppelin. They left following closure of the company in 1983. King's Road was site of the first UK branch of Starbucks which opened in 1999. It inspired the formation of King's Road Cricket and Social Club - or KRCSC - in 2007.
"King's Road" is the title of a song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from the 1981 album Hard Promises.
Planning and Transport
- Planning
The eastern part of the King's Road is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.[1]
- Tube
At the eastern end of the street is Sloane Square, and Fulham Broadway lies at the western end, on the boundary between Chelsea and Fulham. The King's Road, and the area of Chelsea as a whole, is known for having poor links to the London Underground, however the proposed Chelsea-Hackney line would rectify this with the construction of a new Chelsea tube station.
- Bus
Buses 11, 19, 22, 49, 211, 319, 328, and C3 all go down the King's Road, yet most of these turn off the street at one point or another. The 11 and the 22 are the only routes which run down the entirety of the King's Road.
- Rail
The western end of the King's Road is close to the newly opened Imperial Wharf railway station on the London Overground network, with connections to Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction. Southern also run direct rail services to Milton Keynes and East Croydon from this station.
- River
Chelsea Harbour Pier is also within easy reach of the western end of the King's Road, with river bus services provided by London River Services and Thames Executive Charters to Putney and Blackfriars.
See also
References
External links
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