Shelley Street is a street in Central

Central, Hong Kong

Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It is a ladder street

Ladder streets

Ladder streets are a series of streets from Central or Sheung Wan to the Mid-levels on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The series starts from Queen's Road Central, through Hollywood Road and a few other cross streets, and ends at Caine Road at the Mid-levels...

 and the Central–Mid-levels escalators run along the entire length of the street.

Name

The street is named after Adolphus Edward Shelley (1812-1854), an early British colonial

British Hong Kong

British Hong Kong refers to Hong Kong as a Crown colony and later, a British dependent territory under British administration from 1841 to 1997.- Colonial establishment :...

 administrator. The second son of Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet

Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet

Sir John Shelley, 6th Baronet was an English amateur cricketer who made 10 known appearances in major cricket matches from 1792 to 1795....

, he arrived unemployed in Hong Kong from India in June 1844 with vague recommendation letters from Lord Stanley

Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby

Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. He was known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley...

, the then Secretary of State for War and the Colonies

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies

The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies . The Department was created in 1801...

, and soon became Auditor General

Director of Audit (Hong Kong)

The role of the Director of Audit is to ensure the financial order of the Hong Kong Government and heads the Audit Commission. This role is similar to that of Auditors General or auditors in other jurisdictions...

 until 1846. Shelley was described in a private letter by Sir John Francis Davis

John Francis Davis

Sir John Francis Davis, 1st Baronet KCB was a British diplomat, Sinologist, and the 2nd Governor of Hong Kong. He was the son of Samuel Davis and nephew to William Thomas Mercer .-Early career:John Davis was appointed writer in East India Company's factory at Canton in 1813...

, the second Governor of Hong Kong

Governor of Hong Kong

The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...

, to Lord Grey as "dissipated, in debt, negligent, guilty of falsehood, and quite unfit for the high office". In a 1844 letter to James Matheson

James Matheson

Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet , born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, was the son of Captain Donald Matheson, a Scottish trader in India...

, Alexander Matheson

Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet

Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet , was a Scottish businessman and long-standing Liberal Member of Parliament.Matheson was the nephew of Sir James Matheson, 1st Baronet, and a partner in the family firm of Jardine Matheson...

 described Shelley as a "swindler". He is said to have escaped Hong Kong because of poor investments, and in 1847, he was appointed Assistant Auditor-General of Accounts of Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

.

Location

Shelley Street runs uphill from Hollywood Road

Hollywood Road

Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.Hollywood Road is filled with trinket and antique shops of all sorts: from Chinese furniture to porcelain ware, from Buddha sculptures to Tibetan rugs, from Japanese netsukes to Coromandel screens, from Ming...

 to Robinson Road

Robinson Road, Hong Kong

Robinson Road is a 2-lane, bi-directional road on the Mid-levels, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. In the east, it is connected with the Magazine Gap Road and Garden Road, and in the west with Babington Road and Park Road, Robinson Road is quite long. With Central-Mid-Levels escalator, it also...

 in Mid-levels

Mid-levels

Mid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...

. On the way, it intersects Tsun Wing Lane, Staunton Street

Staunton Street

Staunton Street is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, it is the heart of the Soho entertainment area, featuring a number of restaurants, bars and shops...

, Elgin Street

Elgin Street, Hong Kong

Elgin Street is located in Central, Hong Kong. It was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin. One of the earliest streets in Hong Kong, it was also known as "Mud Street" by the locals, as the street became very muddy in rainy days in the old days....

, Caine Road

Caine Road

Caine Road is a main road in Hong Kong connecting Bonham Road in the west and Arbuthnot Road and Upper Albert Road in the east ....

, Leung Fai Terrace, Prince's Terrace, Rednaxela Terrace ("Alexander" spelled Backwards), Mosque Street and Mosque Junction.

History

Until the early 20th century, the area was mostly inhabited by Portuguese people working as clerks in the main British companies. The Club Lusitano, a gathering place of the local Portuguese community, was located in Shelley Street below Caine Road until 1866, when it was moved to its present location at Ice House Street

Ice House Street

Ice House Street is a street in Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street starts from Lower Albert Road on a hill slope and runs downhill across Queen's Road Central, Des Voeux Road Central, Chater Road and ends in Connaught Road Central....

 (according to other sources, the Club was located at Shelley Street from December 1866 to 1920).

The Central–Mid-levels escalators opened in 1993.

Features

The lower part of the street is part of the Soho

Soho, Hong Kong

The Soho district in Hong Kong is an entertainment zone located in Central and bordering Sheung Wan, within Central...

 entertainment area and houses a number of restaurants, bars and shops.

The upper part of the street is mostly residential.

Jamia Mosque

Jamia Mosque (Hong Kong)

Jamia Mosque is an historical building in Mid-levels, Hong Kong, located at No. 30 Shelley Street...

is located near the top of the street at its junction with Mosque Street. It was built in 1849 and was the first mosque in Hong Kong.