Interviews

Real-estater:
- Expensive area
- Italiens,chiness, Greeks.
- Council houses

Young social workers:
- Good service
- But very posh
- Would never live there
- Everyone goes to the city of london to work

Young woman from Latvia:
- Very safe and nice
- Living as the typical families in Chelsea
- Never left chelsea

Function

Resident: Mainly mansions and big apartments, but you can find some areas with small apartments that are paid by the government. Otherwise it is small houses – but expensive in the centre of Chelsea.  Chelsea is a quiet, exclusive area. The residents are very old historical buildings which belong to families through many generations. There are some parks and green areas and nearby in south Kensington you will find some museums.  Among others Holland Park is very famous for being very romantic and beautiful almost like a Japanese garden, in the middle of the garden you will find the ruin of Holland house, the most expensive mansion in 1605. There is also tennis and cricket courts, and London’s most secure playgrounds.   

Business: The only business in Chelsea is at the shopping street or as social workers. The people who live in Chelsea go to white city or Notting Hill to work at the big companies. There are some real-estate businesses, and some officers.

Shopping: Chelsea has a street that could be compared to rodeo drive in Hollywood. The shops are only the most expensive and exclusive ones. Lancaster road is the main shopping street, with brands like Gucci, LV, and Mark Jacobs and so on. At the end of lancaster road you will find a huge shopping mall that has waiters to help you with your shopping. There is also Kings road a smaller shopping street with cheaper shops and cafees.

Chelsea – the architecture

Chelsea is one of the most expensive areas of London along with the neighbor boroughs Kensington and Westminster. In Chelsea there are lots of old buildings, but also new or renovated houses. It is a very attractive and expensive place to live. This property market attracts considerable international attention; much of Chelsea is now viewed as a "Global Ultra Prime Residential Area". Chelsea is a popular location for the wealthy, and once described as "a village of palaces".

Property owner Earl Cadogan

Earl Cadogan owns a lot of property in Chelsea. Most of the property he owns is located in and around Cadogan Square. This has a major influence on the markets as the Earl is the freeholder and generally has no desire to sell; although changes in legislation now mean the freeholder is obliged to sell lease extensions to a leaseholder at prices which are determined by the Leasehold valuation tribunal. Lord Cadogan is generally regarded as an effective and successful property developer/landlord being responsible for bringing all of the fashion labels to Sloane Street. The Estate maintains many of the garden squares, to which local residents can gain access by subscribing for an annual fee – and optionally the tennis courts where applicable.

Architect Sir Christopher Wren

The Great Fire in 1666 destroyed two-thirds of the city of London. The architect Sir Christopher Wren was appointed as King’s Surveyor of Works in 1669 and he had a presence in the general process of rebuilding the city. Wren was knighted 14 November 1673. This honor was bestowed on him due to his important part in rebuilding London after the Great Fire. Sir Christopher Wren was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.^[1] He was responsible for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, completed in 1710.

The best-known building is Chelsea Royal Hospital for invalid soldiers, set up by Charles II in 1694. It is the first large project Wren designed and it fully met its purpose with such distinction and success that even in the twenty-first century it fulfills its original function.

Tipical Chelsea architecture

On Blacklands Terrace you can see three storey brick and stucco flat fronted Victorian terraces typical of Chelsea's architecture. Chelsea used to be a working class area close to the industrial riverside. Now it is one of the most expensive parts of London, its terraces and mansion flats highly sought after by wealthy buyers from around the world.  

People of Chelsea

Chelsea has the highest population density in the UK. According to the 2001 census the density was 24.548 per square mile and the total population was 158.919.

The same census showed the ethnic distribution:

50.2% White British
2.7% White Irish
24.2% Other White
0.8% White & Black Caribbean
0.6% White & Black African
1.2% White & Asian
1.4% Other Mixed
3.0% Indian
1.1% Pakistani
0.9% Bangladeshi
1.4% Other Asian
2.2% Black Caribbean
3.5% Black African
0.6% Other Black
2.7% Chinese
3.6% Other

Chelsea is a borough of high prosperity. It has the highest number of high-earners of any local government district in the UK at 16,6%. A high-earner is defined as a person that earns more then £60,000 a year. Chelsea also has the highest number of workers in the financial sector and the lowest number in the retail sector.

The resident of Kensington and Chelsea has the highest life expectancy in the UK; 85 years for women and 80 years for men. Investigations show a 12-year difference in the life expectancy between the poor parts of Kensington and the rich areas of Chelsea. The average would therefore be even higher if an investigation only including Chelsea was made.

This high life expectancy might be caused by the fact that Kensington and Chelsea are the fourth most active in England in physical activities. 27,9% of the population participates at least three times a week for 30 minutes.

44% of the households are owner-occupiers.

History of chelsea

History of Chelsea
Chelsea began life as a Saxon village some miles from the thriving town of London. The name Chelsea is derived from Saxon words cealc hythe. The word hythe meant a landing place for boats. The word cealc meant chalk so perhaps it was a landing place for boats.
In the Middle Ages Chelsea was a tiny village. However in the 16th and 17th centuries Chelsea became fashionable as a place to live for rich people. In 1520 Thomas More the persecutor of Protestants moved to Chelsea. However More's house was demolished in 1740. In 1538 More built his own private chapel, the More Chapel in the Church. Ropers Garden is named after his daughter Margaret Roper.
By the early 18th century Chelsea had a population of about 1,500. To us it would seem tiny but by the standards of the time it was a large village. Chelsea was flourishing and by the end of the 18th century it was beginning to be engulfed by London.
Meanwhile Kings Road (the main road like “strøget”) got its name because in the 17th and 18th centuries it was a private road running to the royal palace at Hampton Court.
In the 19th century Chelsea grew rapidly. Chelsea gained gas streetlight in 1824-25. Chelsea Bridge was built in 1853. Albert Bridge was built in 1873. By it is a sculpture called Boy and Dolphin created by David Wynne in 1975. Chelsea Embankment was made in 1874.
Chelsea Town Hall was built in 1860.
Chelsea is famous for the writers who lived there during the 19th century.
The original Chelsea Old Church dated from the 12th century but it was mostly destroyed by German bombing in the Second World War and was rebuilt.
Today Chelsea is a flourishing area of London. Chelsea is known for the National Army Museum, which opened in 1971.