The World’s End Distillery was built in 1897, replacing the old building that has been in the same location since the mid-seventeenth century. Originally, this public house was accessed by boat by many of its customers. The building gives its name to the surrounding area between the end of King’s Road and Lots Road.

This area is known for its artistic reputation with artists such as JMW Turner, Rossetti and Whistler residing here. With Heatherley’s Art School and the English National Ballet School in close proximity, the area is still a centre of creativity in producing talented artists today.

Notable residents have included Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde and was home to Christian the Lion Cub.
The fashionable set made their home the Worlds End in the ‘60s with many hippy boutiques and stores clustered around the Worlds End selling anything from hippy paraphernalia to reconditioned pine furniture. The shops were visited by the likes of Twiggy, Keith Richards and Jean Shrimpton. The Worlds End became a centre for the counter-culture world of the 1960s and continued into the ‘70s and ‘80s with the boutique, SEX started by Vivienne Westwood in 1970.