Sloane Street

Sloane Street is a street in London which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along. It forms the boundary between the exclusive districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia, and Chelsea. To the west of the street is Knightsbridge at the northern half of the street, and Chelsea at the southern half. To the east of Sloane Street is Belgravia. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712. Many of the properties in the street still belong to his descendents the Earls Cadogan, via their company Cadogan Estates.

Sloane Street has long been a fashionable shopping street, especially the Knightsbridge section, which is known informally as Upper Sloane Street. Since the 1990s Sloane Street's status has increased further, and it is now on a par with Bond Street, which has been London's most exclusive shopping street for two centuries. The street has flagship branches for many of the world's most famous brands in fashion.

Sloane Street, along with Sloane Square, also gives its name to "Sloane Rangers", originally applied to the stereotypical kind of young upper class English ladies seen in the area. The expression was roughly the female equivalent to the term "Hooray Henry", used to describe brash, upper-class young English public school boys, although this term is not geographically restricted and is used all over the UK. During the 1990s, Dubai's ruling Al Maktoum family, led by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, bought most of the properties on the west side of Sloane Street at the Knightsbridge end. The National Bank of Dubai opened its first overseas branch in London to serve the many UAE-based visitors who rent these properties in summer. The Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel is owned by the hotels arm of Dubai Holding Company, which is also controlled by Sheikh Mohammed.

The northern half of the street is in Knightsbridge and is home to a few smart, more modern residential blocks, all with 24 hour porterage, the Cadogan Hotel and Millennium Hotel. Harrods lies next to Hans Place immediately to the east along Basil Street and Hans Crescent, and Lowndes Square lies to the west.

The southern half of the street has much more individual character, with a number of typical Pont Street Dutch style red brick buildings, built in the 19th century by Earl Cadogan, which house elegant apartments. In the most exclusive residential area of the street, which is between Sloane Square and Cadogan Place, some of the residences have remained as whole houses. Properties in this area have sold in early 2007 for in excess of £2,500 per square foot on long leases.

Notable buildings include Holy Trinity Sloane Street by the Victorian architect J.D. Sedding and the Royal Danish Embassy designed by Arne Jacobsen.

List of premises on Sloane Street

External links

• http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/knights/ss_west.htm
• http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/knights/ss_east.htm

Coordinates: 51°29′48″N 0°09′30″W / 51.49667°N 0.15844°W / 51.49667; -0.15844

v • d • e Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Districts Belgravia · Brompton · Chelsea · Earls Court · Holland Park · Kensington · Kensal Town · Knightsbridge · Ladbroke Grove · North Kensington · Notting Hill · South Kensington · West Brompton Attractions Albert Memorial · Chelsea Physic Garden · Holland House · Kensal Green Cemetery · Kensington Palace · National Army Museum  · Natural History Museum · Olympia · Royal Albert Hall · Science Museum · Victoria & Albert Museum Theatres Chelsea Theatre · Finborough Theatre · Gate Theatre · Royal Court Theatre Royal Parks Brompton Cemetery · Kensington Gardens Street markets Portobello Road Market Constituencies Kensington and Chelsea · Regent's Park and Kensington North Squares and streets Belgrave Square  · Cadogan Square · Chester Square · Hans Place  · Lowndes Square · Redcliffe Square · Sloane Square · Sloane Street · Thurloe Square · Wilton Crescent Parks and open spaces in Kensington and Chelsea