Battersea, Chelsea and Beaufort Mansions

[Moonraker]

I'm going to Battersea Park and Zoo tomorrow. I think I'll give Enid's old house a miss though.

[Katharine]

You don't know what you are missing!

Pity you weren't about yesterday though, I'd have dragged you to Beaufort Mansions and got you to take a photo of me outside.

[Darrell71]

Is Enid's old house in Battersea?

[Katharine]

Yes, Enid spent about the first 6 months or so of her married life in a top floor flat in a street in Battersea.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I think Enid and Hugh lived there longer than that - about 18 months, from August 1924 - February 1926.

[Katharine]

Thanks Anita, my mental maths obviously isn't working too well this morning!

[Moonraker]

I'm afraid staring at houses where once someone famous lived doesn't float my boat!

However, we had a splendid day yesterday, spending four hours in Battersea Park, where we had an enjoyable time in the children's zoo (it contained animals, not children). Our little grandson had a whale of a time, and we also explored the park. A beautiful location bordering part of the Thames with which I was not familiar.

[Katharine]

A zoo full of children - now that's an interesting idea.

I might have considered visiting the zoo at Battersea if I'd had longer, but I only had a couple of hours, and that included getting there and back again. If I get the chance to go back again, hopefully I'll be able to visit the park.

Apart from the fact that Beaufort Mansions was where Enid once lived, I found it interesting just to see an apartment block in that design. I've never seen anything that looked as pleasant. All the flats I'm familiar with are square concrete constructions, designed for practicality, not appearance.

[Wolfgang]

A zoo full of children - now that's an interesting idea.

Don't they call it Orphanage?

[Anita Bensoussane]

Following a hospital appointment in London on Wednesday morning, I decided to spend the rest of the day in Chelsea and Battersea so I could see (among other things) the flat where Enid Blyton and Hugh Pollock lived in Beaufort Street. I took the Tube to Sloane Square and walked along King's Road, making a detour now and then to have a look at some grand houses (e.g. in Carlyle Square and Queen's Elm Square) or visit bookshops. One secondhand bookshop proved quite an experience. On entering I was greeted by a member of staff who asked what I was looking for. I mentioned the title of a book I'd quite like to have if I could find one at an affordable price (Beyond the Blue Mountains by L. T. Meade) and the man was very helpful, saying they didn't have it but he'd check if any were available online. While he was checking (and, as expected, could only find some incredibly expensive copies) I was able to do a spot of browsing. I carefully picked up some E. Nesbit first editions but soon put them back when I looked at the price of one and it was more than £300! The shop did have some Blytons (Famous Fives etc.) but they were up on a high shelf and I'd have needed a ladder to reach them, so I couldn't see the prices. On leaving I saw two gleaming cars with blacked-out windows, with smartly-dressed men standing beside them obviously waiting for someone to come out of the bookshop. Unfortunately I hadn't noticed who else was in there, and when two men did emerge and get into the cars I didn't recognise them, so if they were celebrities I'm afraid their fame was lost on me!

Another exclusive-looking bookshop nearby had a notice in the window saying that customers should make an appointment to view the books. It added that people could try ringing the doorbell on the off-chance, but as I seriously doubted I'd be able to buy anything I didn't want to do that, of course!

Back in King's Road, I turned off along Beaufort Street (the section between King's Road and Battersea Bridge) and found Beaufort Mansions. Enid lived at number 32, with her first husband Hugh, from around August 1924 - February 1926. Beaufort Mansions is a stylish red brick Victorian building which runs along a fair stretch of Beaufort Street, and Barbara Stoney tells us that Enid and Hugh had a small, furnished apartment on the top floor. I hope the road wasn't as busy and noisy in the 1920s as it is today - I found it hard to take photos because of tall buses and vans continually going by. A while ago I read Starlight, the autobiography of Hugh Pollock's third wife Ida Crowe. I've mislaid the book, but I seem to remember that Hugh also lived in a flat at Beaufort Mansions with Ida later on.

Battersea Bridge starts at the bottom of Enid's road and is one of three bridges close together along that part of the Thames - Battersea Bridge, Albert Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. I love bridges and all three had something to recommend them, with Albert Bridge being particularly pretty as can be seen from the photos. I'd crossed them all before, but as that was more than twenty years ago I walked across all three again on Wednesday - Albert Bridge twice!

I also spent a couple of hours in Battersea Park - again I hadn't been there for over twenty years. It's a glorious park with lovely views and some extraordinarily friendly herons which come up close and literally pose for photos! I was glad to see the bandstand and Peace Pagoda, both of which I remembered from a long-ago visit. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to look round the Children's Zoo as I left it till last and reached the gates at 5.35 PM, only to find that it had closed five minutes earlier! Ah well, all the more reason to go back again some day!

A very pleasant area to explore if anyone is thinking of going, though the main roads in Chelsea are terribly congested and the nearest Tube station (Sloane Square) is quite a trek from Beaufort Street (it must be possible to get a bus but I preferred to walk anyway).

Some photos:



Entrance to Beaufort Street



Beaufort Mansions (Enid and Hugh lived at number 32 on the top floor)



Beaufort Mansions



Door leading to various apartments including Enid and Hugh's



Beaufort Mansions



Apartments opposite Beaufort Mansions



View from Battersea Bridge



View of Albert Bridge from Battersea Bridge



Swan sculpture near Battersea Bridge



Battersea Bridge



Albert Bridge



On Albert Bridge



Chelsea Bridge



On Chelsea Bridge



Battersea Park



Peace Pagoda, Battersea Park



Battersea Park



Battersea Power Station from Battersea Park



Bandstand, Battersea Park



Rose garden, Battersea Park



The lake, Battersea Park



Colourful ducks!



Geese and coots



Coot



Pigeons



Heron



Robin



Heron

[Pippa-Stef]

Gorgeous Anita! Smashing account and brilliant photographs! Another place to add to my list of places to go and see!

[Lucky Star]

Lovely pictures Anita it looks like you had a great day. I haven't been down that way since the Queen's river pageant last year but it poured rain that day anyway. I actually didn't know about Beaufort Mansions; I will try to check it out next time I am in town. Sloane Square is indeed a bit of a hike from anywhere but like you I always prefer to walk around London if possible. There are always lots of interesting street scenes going on in and around Chelsea.

I wouldn't have dared ring the bell of that exclusive bookshop myself either. I would imagine they would be less than pleased to see some penniless browser like me wasting their valuable time.

[Eddie Muir]

Fantastic photos, Anita. I particularly like the ones of the herons and the rose garden in Battersea Park.

[Katharine]

Anita, I really enjoyed reading about your trip around Battersea. Especially as it brought back pleasant memories of my own trips of earlier this year, which I never got around to writing about. I never visited Battersea Park, but wish I had now. I really enjoyed seeing your photos.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks. Battersea Park is a lovely place to visit if you get the chance, Katharine and Stef.

I haven't been down that way since the Queen's river pageant last year but it poured rain that day anyway.

I thought of your Jubilee outing the other week, John, when I went to St. Katharine Docks and saw the Queen's Jubilee barge moored there.

Sloane Square is indeed a bit of a hike from anywhere but like you I always prefer to walk around London if possible. There are always lots of interesting street scenes going on in and around Chelsea.

Yes, if you explore an area on foot you're able to see more and soak up the atmosphere. And you can stop and have a proper look at things, or deviate from your planned route if something catches your eye down a side road.

In Chelsea, Hill House International Junior School appealed to me because of the thoughtful motto written in gold letters on a board - "A child's mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled":




A shoe shop called R. Soles in King's Road caught my eye firstly because of the figure on a bicycle, and secondly because of the ...er... imaginative name!:




Oh, and these houses up a side street just looked delightful: