Curating the Neighbourhood
3 March 2020
Hugh Seaborn, the Chief Executive of the Cadogan Estate, reveals the vision that keeps Chelsea swinging
Patrick Galbraith
Patrick Galbraith is Editor of Shooting Times, a columnist for The Critic, and is currently writing a book on the battle to save Britain's birdlife.
As a keen fisherman it is a matter of sadness to Hugh Seaborn, the Chief Executive of the Cadogan Estate, that Chelsea’s only river flows deep beneath the pavement. According to Tom Bolton, who revealed many secrets of London’s subterranean waterways in his 2011 book London’s Lost Rivers, the Westbourne was diverted underground in the 19th century. Happily, however, careful curation over three hundred years by Cadogan means that, while there is nothing for the angler, the area is rich in arts, culture and commerce.
Adrian Ryan (1920-1998), 'Rainbow Trout', oil on board 12 x 16 in, signed.
Since 2008, when Hugh took over, he has been skilfully manoeuvering the ‘93-acre’ slice of London through choppy financial waters and has overseen a period of evolution. In order to get an idea of how it really works I ask whether he just sort of wanders down the street and suddenly realises that what the place needs is a tapas bar?
‘Absolutely’, he replies, in a tone that suggests he too has a fondness for sherry and patatas bravas. ‘If you take Pavilion Road, for example, we knew exactly the list of uses we wanted. The next stage was to identify the potential occupiers that had the right tone and then we got on to the landscaping in order to give it that organic feel’.
I tell Hugh that the previous evening I was in a King’s Road restaurant called Rabbit where, coincidentally, I was trying to persuade a well-paid Daily Mail journalist to accept a poorly-paid gig to write about fishing. ‘Rabbit!’ he enthuses down the phone - ‘it’s a good example of where we didn’t take the highest offer. We took the most interesting independent restaurant with great provenance in terms of food. It’s a real family business. They are interested in what they do rather than the cash flow numbers’.
So is profit not important? I ask. ‘It’s a balance between the two’, Hugh replies, ‘what we are is a very long-term family business with really robust foundations – the fact that we’ve been around a long time means we look ahead a long time. We take pride in putting the community at the centre of what we do, which is in our long term financial interest as well because if the area has a thriving community, it’s going to be prosperous’.
I had an uncle who reportedly once tried to fight the man behind the counter at Granny Takes a Trip, the King’s Road ‘psychedelic boutique’ because they made him a pair of velvet trousers, in the late sixties, that fell apart at a party. To me the story has always typified what Chelsea once was and I want to know if Hugh thinks the area has lost some of its cultural wattage.
‘I think what’s happened with the King’s Road’, he answers thoughtfully, ‘is we remember the 20th Century because we were there but it’s got a rich history that goes way back beyond the cults of the sixties. It goes right back to Charles II who took pride in being a dandy and we’ve had Rossetti, we’ve had Whistler, we’ve had Turner and we’re still attracting creatives today. In terms of fashion, and again this is an example of long term decision making rather than short-term profit, we’ve bought in some recent brands that have really set the fashion world on fire. Brands like Rixo have had great catwalk shows. We’ve also brought in Essentiel Antwerp, which is getting loads of attention in the fashion press’.
But Hugh is keen to emphasise that there is so much more to the area, creatively, than vintage-inspired maxi dresses and pleated jeans, ‘we’re just completing the restoration of a building called Rossetti Studios. It was being converted to residential, which of course is very valuable, but we got involved and restored it in order that it can be used by artists. Part of the requirement is they need to demonstrate that they practice their art in Chelsea’.
Charming naive school oil on canvas depiction of the ascent of Charles Green's Nassau Balloon from Cremorne House, Chelsea in 1845, painter unknown, England, circa 1850.
What about the Open Art Fair? I ask. From where you’re standing, is it set to be an important event? ‘It’ll be wonderful’, he enthuses, ‘art fairs really make Chelsea a destination. The craftsmanship and all the beautiful things being in one room is evocative of what the area is today as well as what it was in the past’.
And given you can’t cast a fly on the Westbourne what does a perfect afternoon off in Chelsea look like? ‘I’d catch a concert at Cadogan Hall’, Hugh replies, ‘I never tire of looking at the stained glass windows. At the right time of day, the light comes through and it looks like lozenges, absolutely beautiful’.
More from the magazine:
