A Knightsbridge Architecture Walk: Harrods to Brompton Oratory
A good Knightsbridge architecture walk takes about an hour and covers late-Victorian grandeur, Arts and Crafts craftsmanship and one of London's great Catholic churches. Start at the park end of Knightsbridge, head west past Harvey Nichols, detour down Sloane Street to Holy Trinity, then follow Brompton Road past Harrods to the Brompton Oratory. The route is flat, about two miles with the detour, and every stop below can be seen from the street, with two churches you can step inside.
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and One Hyde Park
Begin outside Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park at 66 Knightsbridge. The Survey of London records that it was built as Hyde Park Court, a block of residential chambers designed by Thomas Archer and Arthur Green, with work starting in 1888 and Archer finishing it with a new partner after the two split in 1889. Look up at the red brick and Portland stone, in an eclectic Franco-Flemish style, and the busy, picturesque skyline. It became the Hyde Park Hotel in 1902. Next door, One Hyde Park, by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and completed in 2011, offers a sharp modern contrast.
Harvey Nichols
Walk west to the corner of Sloane Street. Harvey Nichols is a late-Victorian building, not an inter-war one: the Survey of London dates the present store to 1889 to 1894, built in stages to designs by the local architect C. W. Stephens. Note the pavilion roofs in the French style, and the second dome on the Knightsbridge corner, added later on top of the short return front of the 1890s building to match the original. Stephens went on to design the new Harrods store, so keep his style in mind for later on the walk.
Holy Trinity Sloane Street
Detour south down Sloane Street to the church known as the cathedral of the Arts and Crafts. The parish says the 5th Earl Cadogan and his wife Beatrix chose to replace an earlier church and commissioned John Dando Sedding, a pupil of G. E. Street and one of the prime movers of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Inside, the great east window was designed by Burne-Jones and is the largest window Morris and Company ever made, with further windows by William Blake Richmond and Christopher Whall. The church opens its doors every day; check the parish website for opening times and services.
Harrods
Return to Knightsbridge station and follow Brompton Road west. The vast terracotta front of Harrods at 87-135 Brompton Road is the work of the same C. W. Stephens who designed Harvey Nichols, and comparing the two shows how he scaled up his approach for a far larger store. Stand on the opposite pavement to take in the full length of the façade, and come back after dark, when the building is outlined in thousands of light bulbs. Inside, the Food Halls on the Ground Floor make a good stop before the last leg.
The Brompton Oratory
End at the Brompton Oratory, properly the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. According to the Oratory's own history, Herbert Gribble, a 29-year-old recent convert from Devon, won the design competition in 1876. The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the neo-baroque church was consecrated on 16 April 1884, making it one of the largest post-Reformation Catholic churches in England. Inside, look for the high altar in a sanctuary some 70 feet deep and the altar of St Philip Neri, both designed by Gribble. The church publishes a self-guided tour on its website, with a fuller walking tour on the Rambl app.
Good to know
Allow extra time if you go inside both churches, and be respectful during services. The nearest stations are Knightsbridge for the start and South Kensington for the finish, which leaves you a few minutes from the V&A if you want to continue with architecture of a different kind. For a quiet break halfway, Hyde Park is just across the road from the first stop.
