Coleherne Court
{{Short description|Apartment block in Kensington and Chelsea, London}}
File:Coleherne Court, (April 2007) - panoramio.jpg
File:Coleherne Court, (April 2007) - panoramio (1).jpg
File:Lady DIANA SPENCER later PRINCESS OF WALES 1961–1997 lived here 1979–1981.jpg blue plaque commemorating Diana's residence at Coleherne Court]]
Coleherne Court is a large apartment block on the Old Brompton Road in the Earl's Court district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Coleherne Court stands on the site of the former Coleherne House and Hereford House. It was built between 1901 and 1904. It was constructed in red brick and Portland stone.
Notable residents
Princess Mestchersky, a leader of White Russian emigres from the Russian Revolution, lived at Coleherne Court following her escape from Russia. The actor Stewart Granger was born in Flat 60 in May 1913.{{cite web|title=Colherne Court East in 1913 - 20th Century|url=https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/vmgallery/general/vm_then_now_gallery.asp?tpg=3&cpg=2&gallery=vm_then_now_old_brompton_road|publisher=Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|accessdate=4 January 2023|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508041308/https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/vmgallery/general/vm_then_now_gallery.asp?tpg=3&cpg=2&gallery=vm_then_now_old_brompton_road|url-status=bot: unknown}} In the 1950s Coleherne Court was the residence of the novelist Brigid Brophy. The actor Corin Redgrave lived at Flat 116 and held meetings of the Workers Revolutionary Party there.{{cite web|title=Colherne Court in 2006 - 21st Century|url=https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/vmgallery/general/vm_then_now_gallery.asp?tpg=3&cpg=1&gallery=vm_then_now_old_brompton_road|publisher=Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|accessdate=4 January 2023|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508041231/https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/vmgallery/general/vm_then_now_gallery.asp?tpg=3&cpg=1&gallery=vm_then_now_old_brompton_road|url-status=bot: unknown}} Other residents include the authors Stephen Vizinczey in the early 1970s and Sir Charles Petrie, 3rd Baronet in the 1960s.{{cite news|title=Author awarded ½p damages in libel case|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS17790123/TTDA?u=wes_ttda&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=3531db06|accessdate=4 January 2023|work=The Times|issue=58169|date=11 May 1971|page=1}}{{cite news|title=No Defence Evidence|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS286485059/TTDA?u=wes_ttda&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=969c8326|accessdate=4 January 2023|work=The Times|issue=56546|date=3 February 1966|page=17}}
The Soviet spy Oleg Penkovsky was debriefed by MI6 in July 1961 in a safe house flat they operated in Coleherne Court.{{cite book |last=West |first=Nigel |title=At Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Chiefs of Britain's Intelligence Service, M16 |publisher=Frontline Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-8483-2894-5 |page=6}}
Lady Diana Spencer lived at Flat 60 at Coleherne Court from 1979 to 1981. Diana's deposit on the flat came from the £50,000 ({{Inflation|UK|50000|1979|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) that was left to her by her great-grandmother, the American heiress Frances Ellen Work. She subsequently rented out the spare bedrooms of the flat for £18 a week ({{Inflation|UK|18|1979|r=0|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to friends. She moved out of the flat to live at Clarence House shortly before her engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales was announced in 1981.{{cite news|last=Coke|first=Hope|url=https://www.tatler.com/article/princess-diana-coleherne-court-flat-for-sale-4-million|title=Your chance to live in the charming South Kensington mansion block that was once home to Princess Diana|date=11 May 2022|work=Tatler|accessdate=4 January 2023}} Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, sold her flat in 1981.
Sophie Rhys-Jones also lived at Coleherne Court prior to her 1999 wedding to Prince Edward.
Coleherne Court has large communal gardens and 24-hour porterage.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Coleherne Court}}
External links
- [https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/forgotten-buildings-coleherne-court-and-hereford-house/ RBKC Local Studies - Coleherne Court and Hereford House]
{{coord|51.4891|-0.1896|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
Category:Apartment buildings in London
Category:Houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea