Kensington
Kynance Mews
Kynance Mews is a cobbled mews which divides into two parts. Both ends of Kynance Mews are entered through an arch.
The western section must be one of the most attractive mews in Kensington. It has houses with lots of different character, most of which have a profusion of shrubs and plants in front. The houses are painted all different colours and there is a very village-like feel to the mews. Some of the houses have roof gardens.
It has a lovely view of Christ Church on the northern side. The home owners clearly go to a great deal of trouble to maintain the exceptionally high standard of the mews.
Kynance Mews is part of the Broadwood Estate which is mainly in South Kensington and comprises Cornwall Gardens and related mews. The land came into the Broadwood family in 1803. The Broadwoods had a piano making business in St James. In the 1860’s, Thomas Broadwood and his brother John Broadwood enlisted the help of the architect, Thomas Cundy III to help lay out a small estate here. (Cundy’s main claim to fame is as one of the family of Cundys who were the estate surveyors of the Belgravia Estate). Cundy designed two parallel roads with houses facing each other across a central ornamental garden which became Cornwall Gardens. To provide stabling for the main houses in Cornwall Gardens, a number of mews were constructed as part of the Cornwall Gardens development. The Broadwood family who owned the land awarded the contract for building much of the north side of Cornwall Gardens and part of the south side to the partnership of Thomas Guy Welchman and Robert Gale. Welchman and Gale built Kynance Mews running off Launceston Place behind the north side of Cornwall Gardens. The name 'Kynance' apparently comes from Cornwall. Most of their work in this area was carried out between 1871 and 1876.
