ABSTRACT
The Regent’s Park had a long and jumpy gestation. It was originally designed to promote the sale of adjacent residential properties. Its protracted emergence as a public park resulted from government proposals to exploit the Crown Estate at the time of the Napoleonic Wars (Crook 2001: 4). The venture was initiated by the government on behalf of the Prince Regent, the title from 1811 to 1820 of King George IV (reigned 1820–30), for whom the park is named. He was a prolific developer, particularly of his own palaces and estates, and the ‘patron and protector’ of architect John Nash (1752–1835). 1 Nash was a ‘self-confessed eclectic’ (ibid: 38). His landscape designs were strongly influenced by his work with Humphry Repton (1752–1818) and arch-exponent of the picturesque, Uvedale Price (1747–1829). Regent’s Park as a whole is the largest park in central London. 2
