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Earls Court Exhibition Centre

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Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre

Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with an art moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architect C. Howard Crane. With the active support of London Mayor Boris Johnson, in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted a Certificate of Immunity from Listing by English Heritage, and its demolition was completed in 2017. The area has since returned to its former state of "waste ground" only with an adjacent devastated Green corridor. Located in Earl's Court but straddling the boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, it was the largest such venue within the capital served by two London Underground stations—one of them, Earl's Court tube station, being specially adapted with a tunnel for show visitors, and in latter years with a direct link to Heathrow Airport. The founder of the entertainment grounds was Leeds entrepreneur John R. Whitley and the first attraction headlined performances by Buffalo Bill Cody as part of the American Show visited by Queen Victoria and subsequently by members of the Royal Household. This was followed by numerous other exhibitions representing countries such as Canada, France and India. Earls Court was widely known for serving as London's and the country's premier exhibition venue for many decades, hosting the Royal Smithfield Show, Royal Tournament, the British International Motor Show, London Boat Show, the Ideal Home Show, Billy Graham rallies, the Brit Awards (until 2010), Crufts and other events such as large scale opera productions and pop concerts in addition to hundreds of trade shows, such as the London Book Fair. It was also used as one of the venues for both the 1948 and 2012 Olympic Games.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Earls Court Exhibition Centre (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Philbeach Gardens, London Earl's Court (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)

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N 51.488888888889 ° E -0.19777777777778 °
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Philbeach House

Philbeach Gardens 10-11
SW5 9EZ London, Earl's Court (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)
England, United Kingdom
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Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
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Philbeach Gardens
Philbeach Gardens

Philbeach Gardens is a communal garden square in the Earl's Court district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The communal garden at the centre of the development is 0.9815 hectares (2.425 acres) in size and was previously the site of tennis club and courts.The square was developed on the site of the 190 acre Earl's Court Farm, which had been farmed by the descendants of Samuel Hutchins since 1720. The development is named for Philbeach, a village in the Pembrokeshire parish of Marloes on the west coast of Wales. The 1st Baron Kensington, William Edwardes, had married Elizabeth Warren of Longbridge, Pembrokeshire and their only son became the 2nd Baron Kensington. The precarious finances of the 2nd and 3rd Baron Kensington precluded the development of the estate until the late 19th century.In 1875 an application was made to the Metropolitan Board of Works by Martin Stutely the surveyor of Lord Kensington's estates, to create the roadway of Philbeach Gardens. The builder George Mineard began building by 1876. Mineard's previous developments had included Cluny Mews and parts of Warwick Road.1-31, 64-73 and 89-110 Philbeach Gardens had been built by 1882, in the Italianate style. 88 Philbeach Gardens was built in the red-brick Domestic Revival style which was used for the rest of the development. It is the only double fronted house in Philbeach Gardens.The average price of a property in Philbeach Gardens was £720,000 in 2020.The musician Michael Howard rented a maisonette in a "decayed terrace" in Philbeach Gardens in the late 1940s. Mario Vargas Llosa lived in Philbeach Gardens in 1967.St Cuthbert's, Earls Court is located at No. 50 Philbeach Gardens.Michael McNay, writing in his Hidden Treasures of London describes Philbeach Gardens as a "big crescent embracing impressive parkland".The civil servant and inventor Henry Cole first rented in Philbeach Gardens and then later bought a property there. Cole was attracted to the area because of his concern with the danger of sewer gas, having been impressed by builder George Mineard's ventilation system to mitigate the dangers of gas. Mineard and Cole established the "Fifth of November Club" which held firework displays from the gardens.An armed siege took place on Philbeach Gardens between 20 and 22 March 1985. The perpetrator, James Alexander Baigrie, had escaped from prison in Edinburgh where he was serving a life sentence for murder. Baigrie killed himself with a sawn off shotgun in the van after a siege lasting 44 hours.