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But almost two centuries on, after being partially destroyed in WWII and remodelled with a poor imitation façade, the crescent housed clumsily constructed 1960s offices, and was a shadow of its former glory.
Now an ambitious five-year redevelopment by CIT Group is determinedly restoring them, creating 67 Grade-I listed apartments (from one to five bedrooms) and nine garden villas. It is believed to be the only total rebuild of a Grade I-listed residential building in Britain.
The challenges have been considerable, with the development located over three Underground lines. During construction, a subterranean 31ft-deep Georgian ice house was discovered under the site’s rear.
Built in the 1780s, the ice house could store frozen Norwegian lake water, shipped to Britain at great expense, for up to a year. Men clambered down into the well to chip away blocks of ice, which would be dispensed to local households, surgeries and restaurants. One of the earliest-known such stores, it is now scheduled as a monument by Historic England.
But when developers discovered it during this project, the brick, egg-shaped cavern had been filled with demolition rubble after the wartime bombings and it took three months of painstaking excavation before its structure was finally revealed.
‘All the challenges on this project have demanded bespoke solutions,’ says Ian Law, partner of PDP London, the architects behind the redevelopment.
‘The heritage façade is made without movement joints in lime stucco, with cornices and moulded architraves to replicate the original 19th-century buildings.
‘Because of the Underground station the new building is also built of resilient bearings to absorb vibration.
‘Other Regency exterior original features such as grand front doors, Regency-style fanlights, stone steps and traditional railings have been reinstated — together with the reintroduction of chimney stacks.’
Construction on this extraordinary rebuild began in 2015 and is due to finish in July next year, with developers working side by side with both Historic England and the Museum Of London Archeology (MOLA).
John Nash, of course, redesigned Buckingham Palace, and created many of London’s most iconic monuments and buildings. But his grand designs and the huge expense of Regent’s Crescent were heavily criticised by the contemporary press, at a time when the country was virtually bankrupted by the Napoleonic Wars.
Today, Nash appears vindicated with the rebuilding of the crescent, which sits on the borders of London’s Regent’s Park, a tribute to both his imagination and creative vision.
Inside the new apartments and townhouses, architecture and interiors studio, Millier, is combining Regency grandeur with discreet modern luxury.
The ground and first floor apartments will have 7.8ft-tall ceilings and feature marble, smoked oak herringbone flooring and ornate plaster mouldings — with accents of burnished bronze. Many of the apartments have their own private front doors out to the street.
The entrance lobby has a glorious, soaring double-height ceiling and grand imperial staircase.
Landscape designers Bowles & Wyer are creating the 1.5acres of secluded private gardens to the site’s rear.
One can only assume that were Nash still around, he would indulge in an ironic smile. His architectural pre-eminence ended with the passing of George IV in 1830 — an impoverished Nash died on the Isle of Wight five years later — so while he would delight at such grandeur being brought back to life, the £2.9million starting price would give some pause for thought.
Jo Knowlsey, The Metro, 28th October 2019
