17 St Leonard's Terrace, Chelsea: Bram Stoker's family home in 1891

The 1891 census is the first time we see the Stokers living on St Leonards Terrace. In 1881, they had been on Cheyne Walk. Both places are in Chelsea, both fashionable.

It is at No. 18 St Leonards Terrace where there is a blue plaque for Bram Stoker (link). In 1891, the Stokers lived at No. 17, but in No. 18 there was no one designated the Head of the household. The occupants were two women, referred to as Servant in Charge, in the Occupation column. The open question is whether the Stokers had an interest in No. 18 in 1891, or whether that came later.

St Leonards Terrace is about a block from the Royal Hospital and the grounds of the Chelsea Flower Show. One website lists it as one of the 200 most expensive streets in Britain.

A piece of trivia: Sir Laurence Olivier, in another time and with two different wives, also lived on Cheyne Walk and moved (eventually) to St Leonards Terrace.

Here is a picture of (approximately) No. 17 St Leonards Terrace, Chelsea, courtesy of Google Street View. No. 18 is the white house on the end of its block. We can't tell from this picture whether No. 17 is on the right or the left. My guess would be the right but that is just a guess.


View Larger Map

This article is one in an ongoing series, starting with Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).


Next: After Dracula: Bram Stoker and family in the 1901 English census