London’s Alleys: Shafto Mews, SW1

This is a row of former stables that backed onto expensive houses in Chelsea, and are now themselves expensive mews homes.
The area was developed from fields owned by Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan, when a lease was signed in 1777 for the architect Henry Holland to layout roads and housing in what makes up much of Sloane Square and Hans Town. Unusually, he took a large plot for himself and built his own mansion house and large gardens, known as Sloane Place. The house and gardens were sold i