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'Earls Court' is a place in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district located 3.1 miles (5 km) west south-west of Charing Cross. It is home to Earls Court Exhibition Centre, one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue. The name is believed to come from a farm, Earl's Court Farm, visible on Greenwood's map of London dated 1827. The earl in question may have been either the Earl of Warwick or the Earl of Holland, both cited as lords of the manor of this part of London. Note the inconsistency of spelling between ''Earls Court'' and ''Earl's Court tube station''.

Contents

History

Eating and Drinking

Theatres

Gay Nightlife

Local Attractions

Nearby

History

Traditionally (post-1945) a large transient population of Australians and New Zealanders stayed in Earls Court, one of the cheapest areas close to central London and which, until the 1990s, used to be a somewhat down-at-heel district compared to its more upmarket neighbours to the North and East.
Today, while there are still significant numbers of students or other people on temporary visas, many of the Australians and New Zealanders appear to have moved to cheaper areas further North and West. This is in no small part due to the rocketing property prices and continued gentrification of the area. This can be seen in the obvious East-West divide within Earls Court.
"East Earls Court" lies to the south of Cromwell Road and to the east of Earls Court Road (a main North-South artery and now the western boundary of the London Congestion Charge which bisects Earls Court) and is home to many multi-million pound apartments and houses in smart garden squares and residential streets. Moving South, one enters the richest enclave of Earls Court - The Boltons, where real estate sells for some of the highest rates per square metre in Europe (townhouses sell for in excess of £20 million round there).
"West Earls Court" lying to the West of Earls Court Road, is notably different in architecture and still contains a number of cheap hotels and multiple occupation houses and bedsits although has many notable exceptions such as the impressive Earls Court Square and Nevern Square.
The wider area is also known, amongst ex-pat Australians, as Kangaroo Court.

Eating and Drinking

Locally owned pubs are popular in Earls Court. The King's Head and Ashby's Wine Bar on Hogarth Street are well known among students and residents in the area. O'Neils is another pub often visited by students.

Theatres

The multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre which opened in 1980 is the neighbourhood's local theatre.

Gay Nightlife

Earls Court preceded Soho as London's centre of gay nightlife, and there are still some businesses aimed mostly at gay men, including the well-known Coleherne pub. The Balans restaurant chain and the Clone Zone chain of shops, both aimed at a gay clientele, both originated on Brompton Road in Earls Court.
In 1964, The Lord Ranelagh Pub (opposite the Princess Beatrice Hospital) spearheaded the local demand for live entertainment. A young, non-gay, male band, The Downtowners, attracted considerable attention. They persuaded many of the local cross-dressers to come into the pub and perform. Thus the Queen of the month contest was born.
Every Saturday night the pub was packed to capacity. The show ran from September 1964 until May 1965 when the News of the World ran an article entitled 'This show must not go on.' On that Sunday night the pub was so packed that every table and chair had to be removed. Crowds spilled out on to the pavement onto Brompton road. The police closed the show.
Many well known celebrities were among the clientele and the Lord Ranelagh is considered to have played a role in the history of gay liberation.

Local Attractions

Within walking distance of Kensington Gardens, High Street Kensington, Holland Park, Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College, National History, Science and Victoria and Albert Museums, Earl's Court provides a relatively cheaper alternative in central London for tourists to stay and eat. However, recently, and certainly to the East of Earl's Court Road heading towards South Kensington, many of the old cheap hotels have been converted into luxury flats as property prices begin to reach or at least come close to the heady prices per square foot achieved in the heart of Kensington (defined by many as North, as opposed to South of Cromwell Road).
There are some impressive examples of early to mid Victorian architecture in the Earls Court ward. Gardens such as Bramham Gardens and Courtfield Gardens are beautiful traditional residential squares with many imposing properties fronting onto them. Collingham Road and Harrington Road, also have some unique buildings, many of them very large and currently used as Embassies. A little further north, just south of the Cromwell road, the tranquil "Kenway Village" conservation area comprising of Collingham Place, Kenway Rd, Wallgrave Rd and Redfield Lane contains some fine examples of more modest terraced townhouses in a very picturesque setting with some fine floral displays.

Nearby

Nearest places:

★ Chelsea

★ South Kensington

★ West Brompton

★ West Kensington
Nearest tube station:

★ Earl's Court tube station