Chelsea Insider Low - Cadogan

10 | HISTORY | The CadogansThe 8th Earl CadoganPhysic Garden today.When Sloane retired from hismedical practice in 1742, he livedin the Chelsea house that hadbeen built for Henry VIII until hisdeath in 1753 at the age of 92. Hewas buried at Chelsea Old Church.In his will, Sloane offered his vastcollection – more than 71,000 naturalhistory specimens, books, coins andmedals – to the nation for a fraction of itsestimated value. He wanted the collectionto stay together in London and beused and enjoyed for learning, so hewould probably be delighted that it wasacquired by Parliament and used tofound the British Museum and later theNatural History Museum.When he died, Sloane’s property wasdivided between his two daughters ashis wife, Elizabeth, had died 29 yearspreviously, in 1724.The CadogansThe name Cadogan comes from theGaelic word ‘Cadwgan’, which means‘battle-keenness’, and the family cantrace its history back to Wales.The spelling was anglicised in the15th century.The foundations for the CadoganEstate in Chelsea were laid when CharlesCadogan married Elizabeth Sloane, theyounger daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, in1717. Charles became the 2nd BaronOakley when his older brother Williamdied in 1726 and passed the title to him.When Sloane died in 1753, his Chelseaproperty was left to Elizabeth and hersister, Sarah Stanley. The Manor ofChelsea included 11 houses, 166 acresand a selection of tenements, whichwere split between the sisters.The 2nd Baron started negotiationswith Henry Holland, son-in-law ofLancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (whom the2nd Baron had contracted to landscapehis estate at Caversham Park, nearReading) for a lease on 90 acres of landthat would become Hans Town. Thedevelopment was postponed because ofthe death of the 2nd Baron and the warwith America, but thelease was granted byCharles Sloane Cadogan,the son of the 2nd Baron,in 1777 (see Hans Town in Sights andStreets).Charles Sloane was made ViscountChelsea and Earl Cadogan in 1800because he had been a supporter ofPitt’s government, despite being a Whigpolitician. His grandfather, WilliamCadogan, had also held the title but thiswas a new creation, so Charles becamein effect the second 1st Earl Cadogan.He completed the agreement with HenryGeneral William Cadogan, the 1st Earl CadoganHolland and sold the Caversham estate.Holland created Sloane Street, HansPlace and Sloane Square, laying thefoundations for today’s Chelsea.In 1821, the whole of the Manor ofChelsea came under the ownership ofthe Cadogan family because they werethe closest surviving relatives to the heirsof Sarah Stanley, Sir Hans Sloane’s otherdaughter.The next stage of the CadoganEstate’s development was led by the 5thEarl Cadogan, George Henry Cadogan(1840-1915). He went to school with thePrince of Wales and became lifelongfriends with the future King Edward VII.The 5th Earl was Under Secretary of Warunder Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli,Under Secretary for the Colonies, LordPrivy Seal in Lord Salisbury’s cabinet andthe Viceroy of Ireland. He was also aChelsea councillor and its first Mayor.He commissioned William Young tobuild a new home for the family, andChelsea House was completed in 1874,close to where the Jumeirah CarltonTower stands today.As the leases on the buildings in HansTown came to an end, the Cadogan andHans Place Estate Co. pioneered the‘Pont Street Dutch’ style when it redevelopedthe area. Most of the estate wasredeveloped between 1877 and 1900.Holy Trinity Church was built with financialassistance from the 5th Earl.The 7th Earl was a military man, in thetradition of the family, and the last Mayorof Chelsea before it was incorporatedwith the Royal Borough of Kensington.He died in 1997, aged 83, when the titlepassed to Charles Gerald JohnCadogan, the current Earl Cadogan.Today the Earl Cadogan is LifePresident of Cadogan Group Limited, theholding company for the UK propertyinvestment business of his family, whichis owned by both charitable and familytrusts.The Cadogan family and Cadogan asa company are active in keeping Chelseamoving forward as well as preserving itspast, from building the shopping successstory Duke of York Square to providingfunding for a new organ at Holy TrinityChurch.