The Boltons

The Boltons is a street and "Garden Square" of symmetrical lune shape in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England (postcode SW10).[1][2] The opposing sides of the street face the communal gardens (as two non-semicircular crescents) with large expensive houses,[3] in what is the third-most expensive street in the country.[4]

The private communal gardens at the centre of the Boltons

The Boltons was built in the middle of the 19th century by architect and journalist George Godwin on land which was originally market gardens.[5]

To the northwest via Boltons Place is Old Brompton Road and to the southeast via Gilston Road is Fulham Road. To the west are The Little Boltons, Redcliffe Square and Redcliffe Gardens.

The area is believed to have been named after William Bolton (or Boulton) who bought land in the area in 1795. Twelve years later Bolton sold the land between the Old Brompton Road and the Fulham Road to the confectioner James Gunter. Gunter died in 1819 and his son Robert inherited the estate. He later expanded it still further and began to lease parcels of land for housebuilding.[6]

St Mary the Boltons church is located here.[7] St Mary’s was consecrated on 22 October 1850 and its spire was added in 1854. The interior was rearranged in 1872 and again in 1952. A two-storey church hall was attached in 1965–6.[6]

Houses on the west crescent


Some of the houses were converted to flats while others were adapted for commercial or institutional use. For much of the 20th century, numbers 20 and 21 served as Our Lady’s convent, which was run by the Franciscan missionaries of Mary, together with a girls’ hostel next door. However, many properties have retained, or been returned to, their original purpose – that of single family houses.[6]

For some 15 years after World War II, "going to the Boltons" meant to Chelsea dwellers going to school. Indeed, on either side of Boltons Place were two educational establishments, Virgo fidelis, RC Junior Girls School and the state primary Bousfield School, which survives still. 29 The Boltons, on the junction of Tregunter and Gilston Roads, housed the infants' reception and two primary classes with a garden play area, as part of the nearby Lycée Français de Londres. Once the main school in South Kensington had sufficiently expanded in the late 1950s, the classes were moved there. The French Lycée was later renamed Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle.

Famous residents

American actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr lived at number 28 The Boltons in the 1950s.[8] Novelist and former politician Jeffrey Archer lived at number 24a in the 1970s.[9] The Boltons was home for a number of years to politician Sir Julian Ridsdale and his wife Dame Paddy Ridsdale (formerly secretary to Ian Fleming and reportedly his inspiration for Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond novels).[10] The lyricist W. S. Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) lived in The Boltons in the 1870s and 1880s.[11] Between 1999 and 2006 the singer Madonna owned a house in The Boltons.[5] The Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind lived in Boltons Place in the 19th century.[6]

References

  1. ↑ F. H. W. Sheppard (editor), The Boltons and Redcliffe Square area: Introduction, Survey of London: volume 41: Brompton (1983), pp. 195–202.
  2. ↑ LondonTown.com information.
  3. ↑ F. H. W. Sheppard (editor), Plate 80: The Boltons, western crescent, Survey of London: volume 41: Brompton (1983), pp. 80.
  4. ↑ Neate, Rupert (17 June 2018). "Bunting and billionaires: the church fete on one of London's richest streets". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. 1 2 Bloomfield, Ruth. "Iconic streets: The Boltons, SW10 The exclusive Chelsea address". The London Magazine. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "The Boltons, Kensington & Chelsea". Hidden London. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  7. ↑ St Mary the Boltons Church, Brompton.
  8. ↑ The Guardian 8 May 2000 Obituary: Douglas Fairbanks Jr
  9. ↑ "Notable Abodes". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Lady Ridsdale: obituary". The Telegraph. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "South Kensington!". G&S Opera. Retrieved 16 May 2018.

Coordinates: 51°29′21″N 0°11′03″W / 51.48917°N 0.18417°W / 51.48917; -0.18417

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