The area between Cromwell Road and Fulham Road has a wide variety of building styles to view on this 3 mile walk from Gloucester Road tube station to South Kensington station (Piccadilly, District & Circle lines).

Exit Gloucester Road Station
Notice this has two station buildings - the ox-blood tiled facade of the Picadilly line adjacent to the light-coloured Metropolitan (now District & Circle).

Go to the right along Gloucester Road & first right into Harrington Gardens
This has some broad-fronted buildings of the 1880s by Ernest George & Harold Peto, influenced by Northern European styles. Numer 39 was the residence of W S Gilbert.

Go left into Collingham Gardens continuing through Bolton Gardens
Collingham has properties by the same architects.

Cross Old Brompton Road into the Boltons
The school stands on the site of a home of Beatrice Potter. The houses were built in 1850-60 and one has a plaque to the singer Jenny Lind. The development included the church of St Mary located in the central gardens.

Continue into Gilston Road and take the first left into Priory Walk
A house in the attractive Cresswell Place to the left has a blue plaque to writer Agatha Christie.

From Priory Walk cross Drayton Gardens into Roland Gardens

At the end go right and then second left through Evelyn Gardens

Go right into the Fulham Road, left and first left into Elm Place. At the end go right along Selwood Place.

Go left 3 times through Onslow Gardens then right into Ensor Mews

At the end go left along Cranley Gardens then across to and through Cranley Mews

At the end go right along old Brompton Road and left into Clareville Grove

At the end go right through Clareville Street and left along Old Brompton Road

Go right into Cranley Place and left through Onslow Square

Go right through Sydney Place, left at Old Brompton Road and left around Pelham Crescent
Pelham Crescent was built in 1833.

Continue left along Old Brompton Road
Opposite is the distinctive Michelin Building now a Conran shop & restaurant. It was built in 1911 as the headquarters of Michelin Tyres and the glazed wall on Sloane Avenue replaces the loading bay. Inside 34 tiled panels depict motoring & aviation heroes and races of the early 1900s.

Go right along Egerton Gardens and left at Egerton Terrace
These are part of the Smith Estate

Go left at Old Brompton Road and right into Cottage Place
On the right is the former Old Brompton Road Station on the Piccadilly line. This opened in 1905 and closed in 1934 (see below). On the left is the Brompton Oratory designed by Herbert Gribble and built in Italian style between the 1880s & 1890s. In 1927-32 it was decorated with marble, gilding, mosaics and stations of the cross. Behind this lies Holy Trinity Church of 1826-9.

Go to the left of the church and across the grounds through Princes Gate Mews into Exhibition Road

Opposite is an entrance to South Kensington tube station (Circle, District & Piccadilly lines).
Admission is free to the Science, Natural History and V&A Museums and all have cafes.

© london-footprints.co.uk 2007

If you are interested in the 'lost' underground stations of London there is an excellent website [click here]

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