Comments on: Mary Quant, the Miniskirt and the Chelsea Palace on the King’s Road

By: Rita ware

Rita ware — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:21:22 +0000

I used to visit my aunt for holidays in Edith Grove must of always been trendy.i recall a cafe at Worlds End Kings road and seeing the first teddy boys outside it that was in1953 , I was 15 .i have just returned from visiting my grandaughter now living in Worlds End it was a lovely nostalgic visit .the house I stayed in Edith Grove looks exactly the same as it did all them years ago[ from outside) a very lovely house. I was still as fascinated by king road as I was then

By: Jasmin Leuthold

Jasmin Leuthold — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:30:16 +0000

King’s road must have been fantastic in the old days.Does anyone know anything about the history of 358 King’s Road.My family lived there for a while.Would love to know what the building looked like.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 17:24:22 +0000

Hi
I am looking for a Daniel who was an Assistant Manager at the Classic Cinema on the King’s Road in 1966? Does anybody know of him?

By: garence

garence — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 22:21:30 +0000

I used to drink in the Markham Arms occasionally and remember seeing Christine Keeler there, at the height of her infamy. She was no shrinking violet!

By: mvharry

mvharry — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 00:26:55 +0000

Another great post!

The girl on the left in the first photo is almost certainly Suzie Leggatt who, along with Andrew Loog Oldham, later the first manager of the Stones, worked as assistants to Mary Quant at her shop in the Kings Road. I knew Suzie as Zanna, the beautiful, neurotic, compassionate older sister of my childhood friend, Peter Leggatt. Suzie was Mary Quant’s muse and collaborator and with her broad social connections made sure that Quant’s fashions went viral quickly. The Leggatt’s were an interesting family, Hugh Leggatt, a step brother, advised the Palace on art matters, there was a very wealthy aunt who lived in Jamaica and a vague connection to Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I still remember Zanna, her laugh and her tempestuous personal life (I would stay with the family in the holidays). There are several pages on Zanna in Mary Quant’s autobiography. Tragically, Suzie/Zanna died in Tangiers from food poisoning in the mid 60′s.

By: mark

mark — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:58:59 +0000

Bernard Bresslaw! This is the only thing ive ever seen him in other than Carry on Films – great find there.

By: Malaga

Malaga — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:41:56 +0000

Fantastic article, my mother used to live on the Kings road and i remember hearing many stories about her time there. Thanks for helping to bring back so many wonderful memories.

By: Adam Faithi

Adam Faithi — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:13:11 +0000

I am a third year Sport Management student at Manchester Metropolitan University, I am extremely fascinated by the Kings Road, especially the 1960′s era. I am putting on an exhibition for my final project on ‘The Kings of the road’, I would like permission to maybe quote and reference some of your work as well a the possibility of displaying some of your fantastic pictures. I hope to hear from you soon,

Adam Faithi
08235263@stu.mmu.ac.uk

By: kung fu northern beaches

kung fu northern beaches — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 04:35:27 +0000

Much like her punk counterpart Vivienne Westwood who sold her clothes in her husbands shop, Mary Quant opened a clothing shop named ‘Bazaar’ with her husband and an accountant in one of London’s busiest and most fashionable shopping areas, King’s Road.

By: Don K

Don K — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:23:01 +0000

Phil H asked about the old Chelsea fire station…. The building still exists — it’s in South Parade, which is (strangely) at the north end of Chelsea Square, just round the corner from the hideous 1960s building he rightly criticises. The building’s in solid-looking red brick; there are no fire brigade signs on it but it’s identifiable by the big 1892 date on the pediment and you can see the shape of the original doors and arches at street level. I think it’s probably flats these days or could be part of the hospital next door. The “new” station was part of the rebuilding on the corner of Manresa Road and King’s Road which also incorporated Chelsea School of Art (now part of the University of the Arts and itself decamped to the old RAMC buildings next to Tate Britain) and involved demolition of a number of light industrial premises in Manresa Road. The building on the opposite corner of Manresa Road (part of King’s College London), built at the same time, has been extensively refurbished in recent years, so it’s to be hoped the fire station will also be spruced up at some point — though personally I’d prefer demolition!

The Chelsea Palace was sadly subsequently joined in its demolition by the Classic Cinema (formerly on the corner of Markham Street and replaced by a branch of Boots), which was an early 20th century building and said to have been one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in London.

On a pedantic note, Bus Stop and Biba were originally in Kensington Church Street, so perhaps that’s why they were omitted from a posting on King’s Road. And I think the boutique was Aquarius not Aquascutum (a traditional supplier of overcoats and macintoshes, at least until recently)… Mind you, we left-over former residents of King’s Road in the 1960s can’t be expected to remember everything accurately….