Wesleyan Church, Kings Road, Chelsea

By 1902 Waddington and Dunkerley had opened offices in London at 53 Victoria Street, Westminster, However, their only known executed building in the capital was the Wesleyan church at the corner of King’s Road and Manor Street, Chelsea, completed in 1903. According to The British Architect of January 1903, there was a competition for the design, and the assessor was Leonard Stokes. No details of the other entries have been found. It was the third location for the Chelsea Wesleyans, the first being the site of the present Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, and the second the site of the present Cadogan Hall on Sloane Terrace. The building consisted of a church and a Sunday School with the entrance on Manor Street. A bomb destroyed the church (but not the school) in 1941, and until 1983, the site was used as a car park. Flats for the elderly were then built on the car park, and the remaining structure redeveloped. This involved creating a new sanctuary, offices, a community hall, and retail outlets on the side facing King’s Road.[RF]

Reference           Information from Richard Fletcher 22 October 2016