Knightsbridge.co.uk

Knightsbridge

is a cosmopolitan byword for wealth, taste and discernment. Centrally located in the city of Westminster and bordering Belgravia the home of London’s social elite.

The district of Knightsbridge is identified by The London Plan as one of two ‘international centres’ in the city of London, the West End being the other. Noted for its cultural and financial wealth, Knightsbridge is inhabited by many of the world’s richest people and boasts some of the highest property prices in the world. Foremost landowners in the area are the Duke of Westminster and Earl Cadogan, two of the richest aristocratic families in the United Kingdom. Once well-known as the haunt of highwaymen, robbers and cutthroats, Knightsbridge today is famous not only for its ultra expensive residential property but also its copious number of luxury upmarket retail outlets.

Lying directly alongside Inner London’s largest park, Hyde Park, the leafy locale of Knightsbridge mostly comprises strictly controlled conservation areas thereby making development land difficult to find. The Knightsbridge Conservation Area encompasses grand individual buildings of Victorian character, notably the Royal Albert Hall, as well as large scale terraces and squares of the mid nineteenth century and smaller scale properties of the early 19th century, the latter of which are set around verdant squares adjoined by short streets and pedestrianised pavements. Despite the small size of the conservation area it still manages to contain 275 listed buildings.

The distinctive tower of Hyde Park Barracks, home to officers of the Household Cavalry is one of the most defining landmarks in Knightsbridge. Designed by architect Basil Spence, it was in 1967 that construction work began. The red brick and board-marked concrete, a trademark of Spence, provides good contrast and fits in well with the already established architectural hues of Knightsbridge. It comprises eight buildings in total including the tower and provides accommodation for over eighty officers, 431 rank and file and 273 horses. The somewhat controversial tower is described as a slender, well proportioned unit which provides great drama to the surrounding area. The rugged and robust design of the build was considered by Spence to be an entirely appropriate one for soldiers and their horses.

Knightsbridge is home to a number of new and exceptionally highly specified developments, in particular, the residential development One Hyde Park. Master-minded by property developers Christian and Nick Candy and designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour, this iconic copper and glass construction offers superb luxury living with views over both the trendy hustle and bustle of the west of London as well as the lush green of Hyde Park and beyond. Oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s wealthiest man has recently snapped up a three story penthouse which property experts claim to be the most expensive apartment in the world. At a cost of £136.6 million which is approximately £6,000 per square foot, mining magnate Akhmetov is also said to be spending a further £60m on renovation work and interior design.

With affluent department stores such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols acting as ‘corner shops’ to the rich and famous, it isn’t difficult to understand why Knightsbridge is labelled a shopper’s paradise. From its humble beginnings, Knightsbridge has emerged as one of London’s most chic and exclusive areas combining art, culture, haute couture, luxury boutiques and fine dining, all of which blend seamlessly with some of the most incomparable and richest residential properties in the UK today.