The secret wonders of Avenue Studios

Avenue Studios are one of Chelsea’s best-kept secrets. Occupying an overlooked mews off the Fulham Road, these properties are little-known even to locals. But, step inside and you will find a unique property currently for sale with Russell Simpson.

The site originally contained a large studio and foundry built for Carlo Marochetti. One of Europe’s most highly regarded public sculptors, Marochetti collaborated with Sir Edwin Landseer on the lions at the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

After his death in 1867, the workshop was divided into 15 smaller studios – some for work, others large enough to live in. The architect was Sir Charles James Freake, who later became famous for designing many of London’s celebrated nineteenth-century facades, including Eaton Square, Exhibition Square and Onslow Square.

Chelsea was the centre of London’s creative scene, and by the 1880s these studios were popular with painters and sculptors. One of them was Joseph Edgar Boehm, the sculptor and medallist known for creating the ‘Jubilee head’ of Queen Victoria, which was widely used on British coinage. Boehm was often commissioned by members of the royal family, and according to legend, he had a long-running affair with the art-loving Princess Louise, sixth child of the Queen.

A second occupant was Sir Alfred Gilbert, Boehm’s assistant and later a royal sculptor in his own right. Gilbert became best known for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, topped with its famous sculpture of Eros, completed in 1893 at the centre of Piccadilly Circus.

But arguably the most celebrated of all these residents was the American painter John Singer Sargent. He came to studios 12 and 14 in 1895, working on a commission to design murals for the Boston Public Library. Sargent’s regular studio on Tite Street was not large enough for the designs, but here he was able to build a one-third model of the library’s reading room.

Sargent remained in the studio for 20 years in total. It gave him space but also privacy, as the artist’s reputation grew and his Tite Street home attracted visitors. He even lent the space to another American artist – Whistler – who was also a neighbour in Chelsea.

The freehold of the terrace now belongs to the Wellcome Trust. One of the conditions of ownership for the studios is that the properties retain their creative purpose. Although many have been turned into flats, several are still occupied by artists, designers, or gallerists. As a result, they have been called the last artists’ studios in Chelsea.

The property currently still preserves its original proportions. This includes a spectacular two-storey studio with a vaulted ceiling, overhead skylights and double-length windows flooding the room with light. It also contains a mezzanine bedroom, a bathroom and dressing room, and a kitchen downstairs.

Thanks to the property’s position – on the side of the mews farthest away from the Fulham Road – it overlooks a pleasant garden. It also has convenient parking out front, and is one of the very few studios to own the freehold.

When people visit this property for the first time, they often express the same response: a sense of amazement at living in the neighbourhood for many years but never knowing about Avenue Studios. They also express a sense of wonder at the lofty proportions of the place, and at how quiet and secluded the setting is.

Because the studios rarely come up for sale, many residents have lived here for decades. They soon get to know their neighbours, creating a strong sense of community. On summer evenings, people will often sit out in front of their homes, adding to the village-like atmosphere. And it’s easy to imagine that the Victorian artists and sculptors once gathered outside their studios too, delighting in the fact that they belonged to one of the city’s most special communities.

Explore Avenue Studios.