The Early history of Chelsea Green is
sketchy and incomplete. Our historical search will revolve
around the 20th century as clear commercial records start
in 1902. Early searches have revealed near complete business
records which should produce a fairly concise list of
each trader to have been present through the 1900s. We
are, however, seriously short of photographic material.
Initial searches at the Kensington Library have yielded
only two grainy pictures from the first half of the 1900s.
If you or anyone you know own any pictures of the Green,
Cale Street or Elystan Street and would be happy for me
to use them on the site please contact
us
Please continue to iew this page as it will be updated
on a regular basis.
.
Chelsea Green is the last remaining part
of Chelsea Common (originally referred to as Chelsea heath).
As with many areas outside of the square mile it remained
relatively unpopulated and some what rural to the 18 hundreds.
Not until c.1810 did the common almost disappear when
it was laid out for building. One of Chelsea Common’s
first mentions revolved around a tenant who was presented
for illegally digging in 1386, however, previous comment
as early as 1373 has been recorded.
Towards the late 17th century the area
east of upper Church Street was still predominately agricultural
and exceeded 37 acres in size. The boundary of the Common
consisted of Cale Street on the south, Pond Place to the
west, Marlborough Road (Blacklands lane) to the east and
the Fulham Road to the North.
The building of the Sutton dwellings
in the early 1900s has shaped the business premises we
see today. In 1908 a charitable organisation ‘The
William Sutton trust’ paid the sum of £85,000
for a triangle shaped area of 4.5 acres. This area, bordered
by Cale Street, Ixworth Place (then Leader Street) and
Elystan Street (then College Street), was transformed
into 14 red brick blocks from a design by E.C.P Manson.
These blocks would be completed by 1913 and would contain
674 dwellings housing up to 2200 residents.
For early 20th Century trading history of Numbers 10 and
17 Cale Street and 17 Elystan Street visit Here
and go to history link.
Thank you to JK
Family History for helping the search for information
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