Pelham Place, London facts for kids

Pelham Place, London SW7

Pelham Place is a famous street in South Kensington, London, England. It is known for its beautiful Georgian-style houses. Many of these houses are very old and have a special historical protection called "Grade II* listed." This means they are important buildings that should be preserved.

Exploring Pelham Place

Pelham Place stretches from north to south, connecting to Pelham Crescent. It's a quiet street, but it has a rich history and some interesting stories.

The Historic Houses of Pelham Place

The houses on Pelham Place are quite old. For example, the houses numbered 2 to 14 were built around 1825. Another group of houses, from 1 to 29, were built a bit later, in 1833. These specific houses were designed by a well-known architect named George Basevi. Like the other houses, numbers 1 to 29 are also "Grade II listed," meaning they are important historical buildings.

• What does "listed" mean? When a building is "listed," it means it is officially recognized as being historically or architecturally important. This helps protect it from being changed or knocked down.

Famous Faces of Pelham Place

Over the years, Pelham Place has been home to several interesting people.

Peter Newton, the Winemaker

In 1950, a man named Peter Newton lived on Pelham Place. He was a British-born American winemaker, which means he made wine. It was at a party in his house that he met his future wife, Anne St. Aubyn.

Mel Brooks, the Comedian

The famous American comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks also lived on Pelham Place for a short time in the 1950s. He was working at the BBC (a big TV and radio company in the UK) on a show called the Sid Caesar show.

Cecil Beaton, the Photographer

A very famous photographer named Cecil Beaton lived at 8 Pelham Place for many years, from 1940 to 1975. In 1967, he took a famous picture there. He photographed the well-known model Twiggy for Vogue magazine. Twiggy was wearing a bright yellow velvet dress in the photo. After Cecil Beaton, the house later became the home of Jane, Lady Abdy.