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Chelsea originated as a Saxon settlement. The word 'Chelsea' is probably derived from an Anglo-Saxon description “ the word Cealchyoe meant chalk wharf or harbour. The first record of the Manor of Chelsea precedes the Doomsday Book and records the fact that Thurstan, governor of the King's Palace during the reign of Edward the Confessor, gave the land to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster. Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned the manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership.

Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536. Both Catherine Parr and Anne of Cleaves lived in the Manor House, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I) was a resident, and Sir Thomas More lived more or less next door at Beaufort House. James I established a theological college on the site of Chelsea Royal Hospital (which was founded by Charles II).

By 1694, Chelsea “ always a popular location for the wealthy, and once described as "a village of palaces" “ had a population of 3,000. Even so, Chelsea remained rural and served London to the east as a market garden, a trade that continued until the 19th century development boom when the district was finally absorbed into the metropolis.

The King's Road was named for Charles II, recalling the king's private road from St James's Palace to Fulham, which was maintained until the reign of George IV. According to Encyclopedia Britannica "the better residential portion of Chelsea is the eastern, near Sloane Street and along the river; the western, extending north to Fulham Road, is mainly a poor quarter". This is no longer the case, with parts of Fulham such as Parson's Green attracting equally high house prices and being deemed desirable places to live. The areas to the west (and particularly around Cadogan Square) is actually now far more desirable.

The best-known building is Chelsea Royal Hospital for invalid soldiers, set up by Charles II (supposedly on the suggestion of Nell Gwynne), and opened in 1694. The beautifully proportioned building by Wren stands in extensive grounds. There was also until recently the Duke of York's Barracks off the King's Road, now a shopping mall. Chelsea Barracks, at the end of Lower Sloane Street, is still in use - primarily by ceremonial troops of the Household Division.

The Borough of Artists

Chelsea once had a reputation as London's bohemian quarter, and likes to think of itself as the haunt of artists, radicals, painters and poets. Little of this seems to survive now: the comfortable squares off the King's Road are homes to the English military establishment, American investment bankers and film stars, and latterly the pop singer Kylie Minogue.

In fact it has always reflected an odd mixture of the English upper class, and the cultural ever-so-slightly-avant-garde.Chelsea's reputation stems from a period in the 19th century when it became a sort of Victorian artists' colony: painters such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, J.M.W. Turner, James McNeill Whistler, William Holman Hunt, and John Singer Sargent. all lived and worked here. There was a particularly large concentration of artists in the area around Cheyne Walk (pronounced Cheynee) and Cheyne Row, where the pre-Raphaelite movement had its heart.

A central part of Chelsea™s artistic and cultural life was Chelsea Public Library, originally situated in Manresa Road. Its longest serving member of staff was Armitage Denton, who joined in 1896 at the age of 22 “ and he remained there until his retirement in 1939. He was appointed Chief Librarian in 1929.

The Chelsea Collection is a priceless anthology of prints and pictures of old Chelsea. Begun in 1887, it contains works by artists as notable and diverse as Rossetti and Whistler. During his time at the Library, Armitage Denton built the Collection assiduously, so that by the time of his death in July 1949 it numbered more than 1,000 items. At the end of the 20th century, the Collection totalled more than 5,000 works, and it continues to grow.

Swinging Chelsea

Chelsea shone again, brightly but briefly in the 1960s Swinging London period and the early 1970s. The Swinging Sixties was defined on the King's Road which runs the length of the area and both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones lived here at one time. In the 1970s the "World's End" of the King's Road was home to Vivienne Westwood's boutique "SEX", and saw the birth of the punk movement.

The King's Road remains the major artery through Chelsea and a very busy road, however, despite its continuing reputation as a shopping Mecca, it is now home to many of the same shops found on any other UK high street, (Gap, Virgin Mega store, and McDonald's for example). Sloane Street is overtaking Bond Street as London's premier shopping destination; housing a variety of high end fashion or jewellery (for example Gucci and Graff).

Sections of this article have been extracted from Wikipedia

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Chelsea Bun

The Chelsea bun was created in the 18th century at the Bun House of Chelsea which was situated on the borders of Chelsea in Grosvenor Row which no longer exists. A favoured establishment of the Hanoverian royalty for the best part of a century and was finally demolished in 1839. Chelsea Buns are made of a rich yeast dough that is shaped into a coil and then flavoured with lemon peel, cinnamon or a sweet spice mixture. Prior to rolling into a spiral shape, a filling made of currants, brown sugar and butter is spread over the dough.. After being baked a sweet glaze covers the bun. The construction process of this bun is very similar to the American cinnamon roll, but far more fun to eat as they are usually unrolled and eaten picking out the currants!