William Willett: builder and…creator of Daylight Saving

In my research in parts of Kensington and Chelsea, I have come across a renowned builder, William Willett many times. The Willett firm of builders were responsible for many buildings across Chelsea and Kensington, including one I researched a short while ago in Adam and Eve Mews, Kensington.

William Willett

William Willett was a successful builder during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but he is oddly most remembered as the inventor of Daylight Saving Time. William was the son of a builder, also William, and joined with his fathers firm in 1880. The firm became very successful, building houses across north London, Chelsea and Kensington.

However, it was in 1907 that William Willett published a pamphlet, The Waste of Daylight, prompting the Daylight Saving Bill. The bill failed a number of times and it was only in 1916, due to the efforts to save coal during World War I that the Act was passed. Sadly, Willett did not live to see it succeed, as he died of influenza in March 1915.

Another interesting fact about William Willett, is that his great great grandson is Chris Martin, the lead singer from Coldplay.

The History of Adam and Eve Mews
Adam and Eve Mews is the former home of the Adam and Eve pub, frequented by playwright, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and also a favourite of writer G.K. Chesterton. The building of the Mews was undertaken by William Willett, builder and inventor of Daylight Saving Time, and whose great great grand-son is Chris Martin from Coldplay.

Adam and Eve Pub
Adam and Eve Mews was named for its association with the old Adam and Eve pub, established before 1730, when it would have been surrounded by open countryside. The pub was rebuilt in 1823, when other building began to spread west along Kensington High Street. There was some small-scale building that took place during the mid 19th century, with a small row of cottages running south behind one of the houses on the High Street.

Adam and Eve Mews today

Image courtesy of E&C

Building begins
In 1876, the land was sold to builder William Willett for development and the first building plans were submitted to Kensington Vestry in 1880. Building along Adam and Eve Mews, off the High Street, was completed by William Willett from 1880, with some buildings being used as stables for police horses. It was originally planned to name the street “Palace Stables”, but it later changed to “Adam and Eve Stables” and then “Adam and Eve Mews”.

The Willet firm was described in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: “they turned out high-class houses of dignity, comfort, and real architectural merit by an old-fashioned method. They were the last of the great Victorian speculative builders.”

Changes in Adam and Eve Mews
It was during the 1880s that the Adam and Eve pub relocated to the eastern corner of the mews. The Adam and Eve pub eventually closed in 1972 and formerly sat where Hotel Chocolat is today. Part of the northern section of Adam and Eve Mews, behind Kensington High Street was severely damaged in a bombing raid in 1940. The site was then used as a car park before new houses were built in 1985.