Knightsbridge

Knightsbridge is the name given to a road that is situated alongside the southern side of Hyde Park which spans the Royal Borough of Kensington, Chelsea and the City of Westminster. The area consists of various districts including parts of South Kensington, South of Hyde Park, Western Pont Street and both Lennox Gardens and Cadogan Square may also be defined as being in Knightsbridge. The district appears to diminish as you move into more southerly regions such as Chelsea or Brompton. Knightsbridge originated from a hamlet that was positioned between Charing, Chelsea and Kensington. The name derives from a crossing of the River Westbourne, which nowadays exists as an underground river.

Knightsbridge is renowned for being a very expensive area, both in terms of residential properties and businesses/ retail services alike. Some of the shops that exist in this area include Harvey Nichols, Harrods and many fashion based retailers. There are also many exclusive restaurants, clubs, beauty salons and banks that cater to the rich. Knightsbridge holds the status of having many properties that are rated as some of the most expensive in the world, as well as having some of the world’s wealthiest people. An average 4 bed room apartment in Knightsbridge can go for as much as £25,000,000 or more. Statistically, Knightsbridge holds 14 of Britain’s 200 highest costing streets solely within its district.

The area is also well known for containing London’s largest Park within the city, Hyde Park, but is also home to many other conservation areas. This means that Knightsbridge is one of the most ‘green’ districts within London.

This area has long been the operating region for many robbers and criminals- beginning from way back into the past where highwaymen would target travellers on their way to London via this district. Nowadays, Knightsbridge has held host to a number of instances of high-profile criminal acts, including the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 and being attacked by IRA terrorists by a car bomb that was placed outside of Harrods in 1983 that resulted in 6 deaths. Realizing this and many residents pricey nature, many building are heavily surveillance by CCTV and even staffed guards, in some instances.