Old Church Street

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Old Church Street is a street in London, England in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

It runs from Chelsea Embankment to Fulham Road, crossing Kings Road. The section to the north of Kings Road is sometimes called Upper Old Church Street. At the Chelsea Embankment end is Chelsea Old Church (All Saints) which gives its name to the whole street, the oldest in Chelsea. It was mentioned in 1566, but was called Church Lane at that time. Sound Technics Ltd was at 46a Old Church Street from 1964 to 1972. It was here that Nick Drake recorded his first album "Five Leaves Left". Pink Floyd, Sandy Denny, Faiorport Convention, Steeleye Span, The Pentangle, John Martyn, Beverley Martyn, Richard Thompson, Martin Carthy, Judy Collins, John Cale, The Yardbirds and The Who also recorded here.

[edit] Famous Residents

Charles Kingsley lived at 56 Old Church Street. Close to the junction of Old Church Street and Mallord Street, at 28 Mallord Street is a house designed in 1913-14 for Augustus John. At 13 Mallord Street, A. A. Milne lived. Just yards away is 127 Old Church Street. A plaque marks this house as the residence of William and Evelyn De Morgan. The building was especially adapted for them so that they could create and paint ceramics. The notable shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (b 1942) sold his shoes to “Zapata” a boutique on Old Church Street. The Chelsea Arts Club is at number 143. The sporting painter John F Sartorius (c 1775 – c 1830) has a plaque marking his house at number 155. In 1792 there was a field called “Queen’s Elm Field” at the northern end of the street. Several houses were built there in 1794. On the corner of Old Church Street and Fulham Road is a building called “The Queen’s Elm”. It was once a pub but is now a fashion shop. Directly opposite is a Jewish burial ground. It was in use from 1815 to 1884 by the Western Synagogue, now called the Western Marble Arch Synagogue. The southern side of Fulham Road at this point is called Queen’s Elm Parade.