Knightsbridge. Belgravia. Two west London neighbourhoods synonymous with urban grandeur, exquisite taste and extravagance. Once a simple village and a set of unremarkable fields lining the western approaches to the city, in the first half of the 19th century they exploded into being with Belgravia the instant 'quartier bourgeois' with an upscaled grid of massive Italianate neoclassical villas and terraces that floundered as Victorian architectural fashion later took a decidedly Dutch and Flemish turn.
In the past two decades the two districts have evolved again, with new money splashing cash, pimping-up the old and squeezing in ever-more bijou new additions. From boutique shops and hotels, lavish living spaces and passing Lamborghinis, this walk traces the making of Knightsbridge and Belgravia from humble origins to its most spectacular buildings and spaces.
DEPARTS Cottage Place, just next to the Brompton Oratory off Brompton Road Cottage Place London SW3 2BE
An ONstreet walk by The London Ambler - Mike Althorpe
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