15 Facts About Earl's Court

Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the northeast.

In practice, the notion of Earl's Court, which is geographically confined to the SW5 postal district, tends to apply beyond its boundary to parts of the neighbouring Fulham area with its SW6 and W14 postcodes to the west, and to adjacent streets in postcodes SW7, SW10 and W8 in Kensington and Chelsea.

Earl's Court is an electoral ward of the local authority, Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council.

Earl's Court was once a rural area, covered in orchards, green fields and market gardens.

Earl's Court Farm is visible on Greenwood's map of London dated 1827.

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Name Earl's Court likely came from the fact that for a long time the owners of the land were an old English noble family, the Rich family and they were the earls of Warwick.

Earl's Court adds to the Royal Borough's tally of almost 50 garden squares.

Evidently, after WWI, Earl's Court had already acquired a slightly louche reputation if George Bernard Shaw is to be believed, see his Pygmalion.

Earl's Court ward had a population of 9,104 according to the 2011 census.

In 1897 Kiralfy had the Empress Hall built to seat 6,000 in neighbouring Fulham and he had the Earl's Court grounds converted into the style of the 1893 Chicago White City for the Columbian Exposition.

An early 1940s and 50s Bohemian haunt in the Earl's Court Road was the cafe, el Cubano, which had piped music and an authentic Italian steam coffee machine, a rarity in those days.

Earl's Court Village is the centre of the British Filipino community, with a number of restaurants, supermarkets and banks.

The southern boundary of Earl's Court is Old Brompton Road, with the area to the west being West Brompton, and the area to the south east being the Beach area of Chelsea.

The eastern boundary of Earl's Court is Collingham Gardens and Collingham Road, east of which is South Kensington.

Earl's Court preceded Soho and Vauxhall as London's premier centre of gay nightlife, though the number of businesses aimed mostly at gay men has dwindled to a single retail outlet, as Soho and Vauxhall established themselves as the new focus.