Pelham Crescent, London facts for kids
Pelham Crescent is a beautiful curved street of houses in South Kensington, London, England. It was built around 1825 and designed by a famous architect named George Basevi. These houses are very special because they are considered historic buildings, meaning they are protected for their importance. Numbers 1 to 14 and 15 to 27 are all listed as important historical buildings.
In the middle of Pelham Crescent, there are private shared gardens. These gardens are about 1.07 acres in size, which is like a big park! People who live in the houses can get keys to use these gardens. The money from selling these keys helps to pay for keeping the gardens neat and tidy. For a long time, residents of Pelham Crescent and nearby Pelham Place had the right to use these gardens. Today, the Wellcome Trust owns the land where the garden is.
In 2020, the average value of a house on this street was about £7.3 million.
Many interesting people have lived in Pelham Crescent. For example, the actor-manager Nigel Playfair used to live at No. 26. There's a special blue plaque on his former home, put there in 1965, to remember him. Also, François Guizot, a famous French politician and writer, lived at No. 21. An English Heritage blue plaque was placed on his house in 2001.
Famous People Who Lived Here
Many notable people from history have called Pelham Crescent home:
- No. 7 — Edward John Trelawny, a poet, lived here from 1861 to 1881.
- No. 10 — Robert and Mary Anne Keeley, who were both actors.
- No. 11 — George Godwin the elder, an architect like the one who designed the crescent.
- No. 21 — François Guizot, a very important politician and writer from France.
- No. 22 — Moses Margoliouth, a scholar who studied Hebrew. Later, Georges d'Oultremont and Baron Jean de Blommaert, who were Belgian Army officers and helped organize resistance during World War II, lived here.
- No. 25 — Charles James Mathews, an actor and theater manager, lived here from 1865 to 1870.
- No. 26 — Nigel Playfair, a well-known actor and theater manager.
The publisher Max Reinhardt also lived in Pelham Crescent for 25 years.
Images for kids
-
15-27 Pelham Crescent in 2013
-
No 21., the former home of Nigel Playfair, in 2013
