The fine art of living

By Andrea Watson
Posted: 2008/08/01

A NEW development in the heart of Chelsea will give owners the chance to live where some of Britain's most famous artists were trained and taught.

The Gallery, a project by Astral Homes, will comprise 109 new-build and converted properties on a site that formed part of the sprawling old Chelsea College of Art and Design.

The phases will be named after some of the London school's most renowned students and teachers, including Henry Moore, arguably Britain's greatest sculptor who became head of sculpture in the 1930s, and English painter and printmaker Patrick Caulfield, who studied there in the 1950s.

Chelsea's reputation as a centre for the arts is inextricably linked with the opening of the school of art on Manresa Road in 1895.

It was an area already populated by artists and craftsmen, many of whom were based in the studios and workshops that sprang up to create the artefacts for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The first Chelsea School of Art taught a series of vocational arts and crafts courses - something quite new or the time. Painting was included in the syllabus from the 1950s and soon the fine art department expanded significantly.

As the school grew in reputation, it began to overflow its original buildings, spilling into sites at Lime Grove in Hammersmith, Bagleys Lane and Hugon Road in Fulham. It also changed its name to Chelsea College of Art to reflect its growing reputation in design and fine art.

In the past two decades, growth in student numbers has been exponential and the need for a single site became overwhelming. In 2005, the college relocated to Millbank, next to Tate Britain, where, for the first time, all the disciplines are united on one site.

The soaring value of property in Kensington and Chelsea enabled the move to be partly funded by the redevelopment of two of the sites, including Bagleys Lane.

Planning permission has also been granted for the conversion of the Manresa Road site by the Athos Group. The proposal aims to restore the fabric of both Manresa Road and Dovehouse Street and to create 25 residential units, including 14 large private apartments, three private houses and eight affordable units.

The first phase of The Gallery, the Caulfield Apartments, consists of studios and one- and two-bed apartments. Prices start from £250,000. The Moore Schoolhouse is a selection of converted one-, two- and three-bed apartments combining period and contemporary interiors. Prices start at £800,000.

The Gallery will have landscaped gardens, a dedicated concierge and secure parking and is near the proposed overland station at Imperial Wharf, SW6.

Fulham is well connected by train, bus and river taxi. The Thames, parks and Fulham Palace are nearby, plus excellent shops, boutiques and restaurants and cafes. For quintessential retail therapy, the King's Road is within easy reach.

INFORMATION:
Jones Lang LaSalle: 020 7751 3322 / www. thegallerysw6. com