Built in Chelsea: Two Millennia of Architecture and Townscape

Description

Among the London districts, Chelsea has always held a special charm for residents and visitors alike - spacious and gracious with the River Thames as background, but with a unique history of artists, bohemians and good causes. Twelve chapters tell episodes from this history, based on buildings that mark the stages of change, connecting what can seen on the street with the hidden histories of architects, patrons and the diverse people who have made their lives in and around them. These range from Chelsea Old Church through the churches, military establishments, theatres, restaurants, housing and shops. The spaces between buildings can be as important as the buildings themselves, and Chelsea has had the benefit of landowners with long-term interests in improving the experience of residents and visitors, creating in recent years some exemplary regeneration projects that can act as models for un-obtrusive management of change.

Dan Cruickshank is a writer, historian, and broadcaster who has made numerous history and culture programmes or the BBC, including Around the World in 80 Treasures; Adventures in Architecture; Britain's Best Buildings; The Country House Revealed, Britain's and Royal Palaces and The Road to Palmyra. He is the author of numerous books, including A History of the Royal Hospital Chelsea; People, Places and Treasure Under Fire: Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel; The Secret History of Georgian London; Spitalfields: A History of a Nation in a Handful of Streets; Cruickshank's London: a portrait of a City in 13 Walks, and Soho: A Personal History and Guide to London's Living Heart. He is also the editor of the 20th edition of Sir Banister Fletcher's History of Architecture, is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Sheffield, and has served on the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group and on the Architecture Panel of the National Trust. He is a founding Trustee of the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, of SAVE Britain's Heritage and of the campaign to rebuild the Euston Arch.

"[A] landmark book about Chelsea's built heritage, which excavates its royal heritage (among other layers) with aplomb. . . . Built in Chelsea is handsomely illustrated and rigorously researched, ideally enjoyed with other works drawing out the personalities enlivening the area (Wolf Hall, say)." * Country Life *