Kinnerton Street

Kinnerton Street is in the district of Belgravia in the City of Westminster, London, England. It had modest origins as a service street for wealthy areas of the Grosvenor Estate and was originally occupied by the animals, servants, shopkeepers and tradesmen who served their richer neighbours. The small side streets on its west side end at the Ranelagh Sewer which was not covered over until 1844. The street was the site of a medical school where the dissecting was carried out for Gray's Anatomy. Later, the street was gentrified.

Kinnerton Street
AreaBelgravia
LocationCity of Westminster, London, England
Postal codeSW1
Construction
Completionc. early 1800s
Other
Known forSt George's Hospital medical school

Location

The street runs between Duplex Ride in the north and Motcomb Street in the south. It is also joined on its east side to Wilton Place and on its west side by Studio Place, Kinnerton Place, Frederic Mews, and Capeners Close.[1]

History

Kinnerton Street was originally built as a service street for the Grosvenor Estate's Wilton Crescent and Wilton Street. It was named after a village in Cheshire[2] associated with the Grosvenor family,[3] but swiftly became a slum. The small side streets on its west side end at the Ranelagh Sewer which was not enclosed until 1844. In the mid-nineteenth century its inhabitants were the animals, servants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen who served the wealthy streets adjacent to Kinnerton. It was only gentrified much later.[2][4]

Buildings
The Wilton Arms, Kinnerton Street

In the mid-1830s Sir Benjamin Brodie provided the capital to purchase a building at the northern end of Kinnerton Street to be the new medical school for the nearby St George's Hospital.[4] Henry Gray probably began his studies of anatomy at Kinnerton Street and carried out the dissecting for Gray's Anatomy there.[4] From 1836, St George's, then based nearby at Hyde Park Corner rented buildings for its School of Anatomy and Medicine.[5] In 1868, the School moved to the main hospital buildings and formally became part of the St. George's Hospital Medical School.[5]

The French restaurant Pétrus has been at number one since March 2010.[6]

The Wilton Arms at no. 10 is a Grade II listed former public house in the street, built in 1825–26.[7] Owned by Shepherd Neame, the pub closed in July 2019.[8]

Former residents

From 1940, Gerald Hamilton, who had served prison sentences for bankruptcy, theft, gross indecency and being a threat to national security, and his jazzband leader lover Ken "Snakehips" Johnson lived at 91 Kinnerton Street.[9]

In the mid-1970s, the journalist and author Christopher Robbins lived with the film director Brian Desmond Hurst in his "grandly shabby Georgian house" in the street.[10]

No. 44 was owned by Ghislaine Maxwell, and is where Prince Andrew is alleged to have spent the night with Virginia Roberts Giuffre.[11][12]

References
  1. Open Street Map. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  2. "Kinnerton Street" in Christopher Hibbert; Ben Weinreb; John Keay; Julia Keay. (2008). The London Encyclopaedia (3rd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 466. ISBN 978-0-230-73878-2.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Bebbington, Gillian. (1972) London Street Names. London: B.T. Batsford. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0713401400
  4. Richardson, Ruth (2009). The Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, books, fortune, fame. Oxford University Press. pp. 32–34. ISBN 978-0-19-162338-7.
  5. "Brief history during Snow era". www.ph.ucla.edu.
  6. Petrus. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  7. Historic England. "The Wilton Arms public house (1251180)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  8. "Wilton Arms, London". whatpub.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  9. Stephen Bourne (3 August 2020). Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime 1939–45. History Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-0-7509-9583-2.
  10. "Christopher Robbins | The Empress of Ireland". Slightly Foxed. June 1, 2020.
  11. Ma, Alexandra. "We visited alleged Epstein 'madam' Ghislaine Maxwell's upscale house in London's Belgravia, where the superrich live, and got a taste of her lifestyle before she disappeared". Business Insider.
  12. "Epstein's Drinkers & Drivers".
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