Changing Faces of St Marylebone

Nash is known today as the architect of Regency London, the man who designed the sweeping white stucco terraces that defined an era, as well as iconic set-piece buildings such as Buckingham Palace and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. But this stellar success came late in his career, which had a faltering start.

Nash was a Londoner by birth and started out as a surveyor, builder and carpenter before setting up an architectural practice. This failed to prosper, and he was declared bankrupt. His private life was no more successful; his wife had numerous affairs and he divorced her – then almost unheard of – in 1787.

Nash’s luck changed when he moved to Wales and began to design country houses, notably Llanerchaeron. He then designed East Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight, followed by other small castles and small groups of buildings in the picturesque style, including Blaise Hamlet in Bristol.

Nash’s name was finally made when he came to the attention of the Prince Regent through his friendship with the Whig politician Charles James Fox. The Prince commissioned him to design Regent’s Street. Nash went on to lay out St James’s Park, Trafalgar Square, Carlton Square and Portland Place. He remodelled Buckingham House, which became Buckingham Palace, and designed The Royal Pavilion in Brighton.