Description
This is the small walled garden to the Queen Anne house where writer and historian Thomas Carlyle lived with his wife Jane from 1834-81. It was purchased by public subscription in 1895 and opened to the public. Their garden had flowers and vegetables, a cherry tree, grape vine and walnut tree, lilac bushes, hawthorn, ash, jessamine, wallflowers and much mint, including plants to remind Jane of her native Scotland. The Carlyle's House Memorial Trust was formed to administer it, and it opened to the public in 1896. It was transferred to the National Trust in 1936. The garden is being planted with plants mentioned in the Carlyles' writings.
Practical Information
| Site location | 24 Cheyne Row, off Cheyne Walk, Chelsea |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW3 5HL |
| What3Words | ///manage.bonds.saves |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | April/end March-October/early November, Wed - Sun, 11-5. Closed Good Friday. |
| Special Conditions | Admission charge (free to NT members) |
| Facilities | Museum, shop |
| Events | Talks. Has opened for OGSW |
| Public Transport | Tube: South Kensington (Piccadilly, District, Circle), Sloane Square (District, Circle) then bus. Bus: 11, 19, 22, 49, 170. |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Nos. 16-34 Cheyne Row were built in 1708 on ground previously the site of the bowling green of The Three Tuns public house and Nos.16-24 backed onto the ground of Shrewsbury House, whose Tudor garden forms the boundary of the garden of Carlyle's House at No. 24. Writer and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), nicknamed the Sage of Chelsea, and his wife Jane lived here from 1834 - 1881. The Queen Anne house was purchased by public subscription in 1895 and the Carlyle's House Memorial Trust was formed to administer it, opening to the public in 1896. It was transferred to the National Trust in 1936. It contains the Carlyles' furniture, pictures, books and other possessions, and behind the house is their Victorian walled garden. Carlyle often sat here, and in hot weather wrote in the garden, an awning occasionally erected for the purpose.
Both Carlyles tended the garden, which had flowers and vegetables. Among the plants were a cherry tree, grape vine and walnut tree, lilac bushes, hawthorn, ash, jessamine, wallflowers and much mint, including plants to remind Jane of her native Scotland. The walnut tree and a mulberry in the adjacent garden were probably part of a C17th orchard. A copper beech was in the north east corner. The old earth closet is still by the house, and there was once a very large water butt. In July 1847 Carlyle wrote of his purchase of three fruit trees, the old ones having died. In 1852 a dwarf wall and pillars was erected dividing the garden and flagstoned area by the house, and there were once two china garden seats taken out in summer. Mrs Carlyle's dog Nero was buried near the south east corner in February 1860, but the headstone is no longer there. In 1870 a Virginia Creeper was planted on the north wall.
The garden is now being planted with plants mentioned in the Carlyles' writings and there are plans to include walnut, figs, grape vine, nettles from the countryside where Jane had lived, ivy and box hedging.
Both Carlyles tended the garden, which had flowers and vegetables. Among the plants were a cherry tree, grape vine and walnut tree, lilac bushes, hawthorn, ash, jessamine, wallflowers and much mint, including plants to remind Jane of her native Scotland. The walnut tree and a mulberry in the adjacent garden were probably part of a C17th orchard. A copper beech was in the north east corner. The old earth closet is still by the house, and there was once a very large water butt. In July 1847 Carlyle wrote of his purchase of three fruit trees, the old ones having died. In 1852 a dwarf wall and pillars was erected dividing the garden and flagstoned area by the house, and there were once two china garden seats taken out in summer. Mrs Carlyle's dog Nero was buried near the south east corner in February 1860, but the headstone is no longer there. In 1870 a Virginia Creeper was planted on the north wall.
The garden is now being planted with plants mentioned in the Carlyles' writings and there are plans to include walnut, figs, grape vine, nettles from the countryside where Jane had lived, ivy and box hedging.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ272777 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | National Trust |
| Site Management | National Trust |
| Dates | 1708; 1834-81 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: 24 Cheyne Row |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Cheyne |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Area (Thames) |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
There has probably been a church on this site since Saxon times. The present All Saints Church has late C13th remnants and was parish church for Chelsea village until it declined in the C19th, becoming a chapel of ease when the new parish church of St Luke's was built and then referred to as Chelsea Old Church. It became a separate parish church once more in the 1950s. In the railed churchyard are a number of monuments including that of Sir Hans Sloane, who had purchased the Manor of Chelsea in 1710. Between the church and the Embankment is St Thomas More Gardens, an area of landscaping with a statue of Sir Thomas More, who lived in Chelsea.
Chelsea Embankment Gardens consist of two strips of garden either side of Albert Bridge, created c.1874 when the Thames was embanked under the supervision of Sir Joseph Bazalgette when land was reclaimed and the road constructed. The two garden areas have ornamental bedding, paths and seating, with shrubbery backing Cheyne Walk, and within each section are a number of statues commemorating famous local residents such as the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, writer and historian Thomas Carlyle and composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Albert Bridge Garden is a small riverside garden at the foot of the Albert Bridge created when the Thames was embanked to designs of Sir Joseph Bazalgette in 1869-74. The garden has a small pavilion, shrubberies, trees and a statue by Francis Derwent Wood. One of two lamp standards to commemorate the completion of the Embankment is sited at the east side of the bridge.