4 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, built in 1718 and architecturally in the Queen Anne style. [1] There is a blue plaque noting that the novelist George Eliot lived there until her death. In 2015, it was acquired by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [2] [3]
It was most probably designed for its first owner, William Morrison. [4]
According to Walter Godfrey's 1909 Survey of London, it was built with greater care and expense than 1 to 3 Cheyne Walk (built about the same time). The house can be dated to 1718, because of the date 1718 on the lead head to the rainwater pipe. This pipe was formerly at the back of the house, and is now at the front of the house. The red brick facade was almost identical to 1718, except that a third storey was added, and "battlements" now exist upon the parapet. However, the house has had certain modifications to the interior. [4]
In 1851, the organist, composer and teacher Sir John Goss was living there with his wife, five children, sister-in-law and two servants. [5]
Subsequent occupants included the Scottish artist and educator William Dyce (1806–1864) and the Irish artist Daniel Maclise (1806–1870), who was a friend of Charles Dickens. [6]
The antiquary William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818–1885), President of the Society of Antiquaries, Keeper of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, Secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society, and President of the Numismatic Society, lived there until 1880. [7]
The house was then occupied by the novelist George Eliot, who lived there until her death in 1880. Together with her new husband, John Cross, they leased it in the spring 1880, commissioning a "Mr Armitage of Manchester" to supervise the redecoration and furnishing. However, they did not move in until 3 December, and Eliot died on 22 December 1880. Although she only lived there for 19 days, it is still considered to be her London home, and she has been honoured with a blue plaque, rather than any of the other notable inhabitants. [8]
In 1909, the house was occupied by Ernest Louis Meinertzhagen JP, who was a long-time member of the London County Council. [4]
Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.
Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, situated south-west of the City of Westminster. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area.
Cheyne Walk is an historic road, in Chelsea, London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of the Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the river, it fronted the river along its whole length.
William Cheyne, 2nd Viscount Newhaven was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1681 until 1707 when as a viscount in the Peerage of Scotland he was required to sit in the House of Lords.
Old Church Street is a street in London, England in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Tite Street is a street in Chelsea, London, England, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, just north of the River Thames. It was laid out from 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, giving access to the Chelsea Embankment.
Chelsea Old Church, also known as All Saints, is an Anglican church, on Old Church Street, Chelsea, London SW3, England, near Albert Bridge. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. Inside the Grade I listed building, there is seating for 400 people. There is a memorial plaque to the author Henry James (1843–1916) who lived nearby on Cheyne Walk. To the west of the church is a small public garden containing a sculpture by Sir Jacob Epstein.
Lindsey House is a Grade II* listed villa in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London. It is owned by the National Trust but tenanted and only open by special arrangement.
The Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel is a place of worship in Hampstead, London. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. It is also a Grade II Listed building.
Carlyle Mansions is a block of flats located on Cheyne Walk, in the Chelsea area of London, England. Built in 1886, it was named after Thomas Carlyle, himself a resident of Chelsea for much of his life.
Clarence House, Richmond is a Grade II listed house in The Vineyard, Richmond, dating from about 1696.
5 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, built in 1718.
15 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, built in 1718. It was originally known as Carlton House. It is considered to be a replica of 4 Cheyne Walk.
6 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, built in 1718.
John Samuel PheneFRGS, FSA, FRIBA was a British architect, who lived in Chelsea, London, for more than 50 years.
Oakley Street is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from King's Road to the crossroads with Cheyne Walk and the River Thames, where it continues as the Albert Bridge and Albert Bridge Road. The street was named after Baron Cadogan of Oakley.
Cheyne Row is a residential street in Chelsea, London.
Chelsea Manor Street is a street in Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from Britten Street, crossing King's Road to St Loo Avenue. The southern continuation, Cheyne Gardens ends at Cheyne Walk.
Wellington Square is a garden square in Chelsea, London, off the south side of the King's Road. It was built in the first decades of the nineteenth century on the former site of a nursery owned by the florist and "well-known tulip-fancier" Thomas Davey and named after the Duke of Wellington. The square consists of 35 five-storey terraced stucco houses around a central garden with a fountain. The whole square is grade II listed with Historic England.