Page 15: The 'new' industries

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There were few traditional industries in Kensington and Chelsea except in the north. However, today service industries proliferate including shops, hotels and media houses, such as Associated Newspapers and the Virgin Group. From the 1850s entrepreneurial shopkeepers arrived in the area hoping to make their fortune. Today their names are legendary. Mr Harrod set up his first Knightsbridge shop in 1849 and his son laid the foundation of the world famous department store. A similar pattern was also developing on Kensington High Street. The first to arrive was Messrs Derry and Toms, followed by John Barker and finally the Ponting Brothers. They took over smaller local shops, forming large establishments with striking buildings tailored to serve the needs of the new residents.

Chelsea was not left out with the arrival of Messrs Harvey and Nichols in 1859 and Peter Jones in 1871. Moving to the King’s Road in 1877, Peter Jones erected his flagship store, the first to be lit by electricity, in 1889. This was replaced in 1935 by one of the first curtain wall buildings in England. However, it was the arrival of Mary Quant and the opening of Bazaar in 1955 which led to a new retail phenomenon that put Chelsea and the Kings Road on the map, the fashion boutique.

The large Victorian terrace houses, especially in South Kensington and Earl’s Court, have successfully been converted into hotels and guest houses to accommodate the millions of visitors who flock to the Royal Borough every year. As well as playing host to popular events such as the Chelsea Flower Show and the Notting Hill Carnival, the Royal Borough is home to many of London’s top tourist attractions such as Kensington Palace, Harrods and the South Kensington museums.