18 | STREETS & SIGHTS |She was an Irish poet, who wrote underthe pen name ‘Speranza’.• Captain Robert Falcon Scott(1868-1912), also known as Scott ofthe Antarctic, an explorer who led twoexpeditions to the South Pole, lived at56 Oakley Street.He led a small team to reach the polein January 1912, only to discover that arival Norwegian team had beaten themto it by five weeks. Scott and his team allperished on the return journey, despitethe unwell Captain Lawrence Oatesfamously sacrificing himself by walkingout of the tent into a blizzard to give histeam-mates a better chance of survival.• David and Angie Bowie lived at 89Oakley Street from 1973 to 74.Old Church Street• John F Sartorius (c.1775-c.1830),best known for his sporting paintings,especially of horses, lived at 155 OldChurch Street from 1807-1812.• University professor, Church ofEngland priest and author CharlesKingsley (1819-1875), best knownfor writing The Water-Babies, livedat 56 Old Church Street. His fatherwas <strong>Chelsea</strong>’s parish rector from1836-1860.• Ceramic artist and novelist WilliamDe Morgan (1839-1917) and his wifeEvelyn (1855-1919) lived and died at127 Old Church Street. He was friendswith William Morris and designed tiles,stained glass and furniture for Morris &Co, while Evelyn was a Pre-Raphaelitepainter.• Sound Techniques, an independentrecording studio, was at 46a Old ChurchStreet from 1964-1976, and was usedby artists including Nick Drake, PinkFloyd, the Who and the Yardbirds.• Former Def Leppard guitarist SteveClark (1960-1991) died from a drugoverdose at his home at 44 Old ChurchStreet, aged 30.Royal Hospital <strong>Chelsea</strong>Pont Street• Sir George Alexander (1858-1918)lived at 57 Pont Street. He was actormanagerof St James’s Theatre andproduced several major plays, includingOscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fanand The Second Mrs Tanqueray bySir Arthur Wing Pinero.Wilde’s The Importance of BeingEarnest premiered at the theatre inFebruary 1895, with Alexander himselfRoyal Borough of Kensingon & <strong>Chelsea</strong>, Family & Children’s ServiceThe Flying ManOne of the most colourful stories from<strong>Chelsea</strong>’s past is that of the ‘flying man’.Vincent de Groof, a Belgian with adream of making a flying machine thatimitated a bird’s wings, planned a publicdemonstration of his invention atCremorne Gardens in 1874. He hadalready successfully trialled his flyingapparatus at the gardens, and claimedhe could fly through the air for 500 feet.On a fateful July evening, the crowdsgathered to watch him make hisdescent. His invention, made of caneand silk and similar to a bat’s wings, hadlevers to control it and he planned toswoop down from a balloon. The balloonlifted de Groof and his machine high intothe air, about 300-400 feet, but heseemed to lose his nerve and ask for theballoon to be lowered to he could makehis flight from nearer the ground.According to newspaper reports atthe time, as the balloon drifted towardsSt Luke’s Church, the balloonist washeard to tell de Groof to cut himselfloose or he would land on the churchroof. De Groof cut the rope when he was80 feet from the ground, hoping to landin the churchyard, but his wings didn’tinflate and he plummeted into RobertStreet (now Sydney Street).He never regained consciousness andin the role of Mr John Worthing, JP.The Marquess of Queensberry, whowould eventually bring about Wilde’sdownfall (see Oscar Wilde underTite Street), intended to disrupt the premiere,but Alexander and Wilde weretipped off and prevented him fromattending.Wilde’s conviction for gross indecencyin May 1895 led to the play beingclosed, despite its success.died shortly after at <strong>Chelsea</strong> Infirmary.His wife reportedly fainted at the sightof the crash and the flying machine wascarried off in shreds by the crowd beforethe police could secure it. The balloonsoared away over Victoria Park and wasapparently watched with interest bymany people, unaware of its role inthe tragedy.• Actress Lillie Langtry (1853-1929) livedat 21 Pont Street (see The <strong>Cadogan</strong> inHotels).Royal Hospital Road• The Royal Hospital <strong>Chelsea</strong> is abeautiful, grand Grade I-listed 17thcenturybuildings, mostly built by SirChristopher Wren, with three largecourtyards and well-kept grounds. Themain courtyard, Figure Court, features anRoyal Borough of Kensingon & <strong>Chelsea</strong>, Family & Children’s Service
19 | STREETS & SIGHTS |impressive statue of Charles II, whichwas regilded in 2002 for the Queen’sGolden Jubilee.The <strong>Chelsea</strong> Pensioners themselvesare immediately recognisable in theirscarlet uniforms, and there are tours by<strong>Chelsea</strong> Pensioner guides (seeMuseums). The RHS <strong>Chelsea</strong> FlowerShow has been held in the SouthGrounds of the hospital since 1913.There are events, such as concerts, heldat the hospital and certain rooms can behired for functions or weddings.The Royal Hospital was establishedunder Charles II, who issued a RoyalWarrant in 1681 authorising its buildingto provide for the welfare of old or disabledsoldiers. Sir Christopher Wren,Surveyor-General of Works to Charles II,was commissioned to design it and SirStephen Fox, former Paymaster Generalto the Army and Commissioner of theTreasury, secured the funds – with somedifficulty.Despite delays and problems withfunding, building work was finallycompleted in 1692 and in February thesame year, the first in-pensioners wereadmitted. The hospital includes the LongWards, which contains the pensioners’living quarters, the State Apartments, theWren Chapel, the Great Hall and theOctagon. The berths in the Long Wards,where the pensioners sleep, wereextended in 1954-55 and again in 1991to their present size of 9 x 9ft.The Royal Hospital was funded bydeductions from army pay and got occasionalboosts from other sources in itsearly days, but since 1847 it has beensupported by Government ‘grant-in-aid’,legacies, donations and unclaimed sharesof money from the Army Prize Fund.Today it is still supported by grant-in-aidbut major projects and non-routine maintenanceare funded by private donations.It is home to between 300 and 350veteran soldiers who have surrenderedtheir military pension to the Treasury inreturn for accommodation, food, uniformclothing and medical care.The Great Hall, where the pensionerseat, is an impressive space and featuresa number of artworks, including a muralpainting by Antonio Verrio and HenryCooke of Charles II on horseback, datingfrom around 1690, which was restoredin 2002.One of the hospital’s real gems is theWren Chapel. It has a high ceiling, greatacoustics and a mural of theResurrection by Sebastiano Ricci, datingfrom 1714. The first televised churchservice in Britain was broadcast from thechapel in 1949.<strong>Chelsea</strong> pensioner tour guidesThe Octagon, which links the chapeland the Great Hall, supports the cupolaand rises to 130ft. The Royal Coat ofArms over the north entrance originallycame from the Royal Hospital atKilmainham, Dublin, which closed in1925. The striking statue of a <strong>Chelsea</strong>Pensioner by Philip Jackson was erectedin front of the Octagon in 2000 to markthe new millennium.Sir John Soane added a new infirmarybuilding on the site of today’s NationalArmy Museum in 1809, but it wasdemolished after being bombed in 1941,Royal Borough of Kensingon & <strong>Chelsea</strong>, Family & Children’s ServiceSt Luke’s andChrist ChurchSt Luke’s ChurchSt Luke’s on Sydney Street and Christ Churchoff Flood Street are treated as the same parish.St Luke’s, designed by James Savage, wasconsecrated in 1824 and was built because<strong>Chelsea</strong> Old Church had become too small forthe rising population. Christ Church, designedby Edward Blore, was consecrated in 1839,originally as a ‘chapel of ease’ for St Luke’s.St Luke’s is regarded as one of the firstneo-Gothic churches in London.Charles Dickens married Catherine Hogarthat St Luke’s on April 2, 1836, two days afterthe first part of The Pickwick Papers was published.Other famous figures connected withthe church include The Water-Babies authorCharles Kingsley, whose father was the rectorof the parish from 1836-1860; John Goss,who wrote the hymn Praise My Soul the Kingof Heaven; and John Ireland, who wrote thetune for My Song is Love Unknown. Goss andIreland were organists at the church.The nave is 60ft high, thought to be thetallest of any parish church in London, and thetower is 142ft tall. The east window coversmore than 500 sq ft and was designed byHugh Easton. It features emblems of thesaints and was installed in 1959 to replace awindow destroyed in the Second World War.Behind the altar, a painting by JamesNorthcote (1746-1831) shows the taking ofChrist from the cross, and two modern sculpturesby Stephen Cox either side of the highaltar depict Adam and Eve at the fall of manin the Garden of Eden. The ten bells in thetower were cast at Whitechapel when thechurch was built and are still rung.The organ at St Luke’s was built by JohnCompton in 1932 and includes some of theoriginal 1824 instrument. It was the prototypefor the organs at Broadcasting House andDownside Abbey.The PPFA Chapel on the south side of thechurch is used for prayer and is a memorialchapel to the Punjab Frontier Force, based inIndia from 1847 to 1947. There are othermemorials to locals at St Luke’s, including LtCol Henry <strong>Cadogan</strong> and Luke Thomas Flood.The labyrinth of crypts under the church isnow used as offices, and the burial groundhas been a public garden since 1881 (seeGreen Spaces).Christ Church is smaller than St Luke’s andwas designed as a church for the workingclass. It was funded by the Hydman familytrust and cost much less than St Luke’s, theidea being to cater for the maximum numberof people for the minimum cost. It wasextended over the years, with adornmentsadded as the social make-up of the areachanged. The organ and pulpit were rescuedfrom churches that were being demolished.Christ Church established a boys’ schoolsoon after its consecration at rented propertyin Flood Street. It accepted girls from 1843,when land was donated by Lord <strong>Cadogan</strong>and new schools were built. Today, it is aChurch of England primary school.Christ Church rejoined St Luke’s in 1986 toform the Parish of <strong>Chelsea</strong>: St Luke andChrist Church. Each church is managedseparately.For more information, telephone 020 73517365 or visit www.chelseaparish.org.
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