Kensington Gore

Kensington Gore is a street in central London, the same name having been formerly used for the piece of land on which it stands. (A gore is a narrow, triangular piece of land.) It is the location of the Royal Albert Hall (built on the site of Gore House), Royal College of Art and the Royal Geographical Society. Gore House, with its three-acre (1.2 ha) estate, was the residence of William Wilberforce between 1808 and 1821, and was occupied by the Countess of Blessington and the Count D'Orsay from 1836 to 1849. In May 1851 the house was opened as a restaurant by the chef Alexis Soyer, who planned to cater for the Great Exhibition of 1851. After the exhibition, Gore House and its land were bought by the Royal Commissioners for the Exhibition.

'Kensington Gore' is also theatre slang for stage blood.

References

• Last of the Dandies: The Scandalous Life and Escapades of Count D'Orsay, Nick Foulkes, Little, Brown.