Regent Street

Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End. Named after the Prince Regent (later George IV), John Nash is seen as the Architect behind the original Street but all his buildings with the exception of All Souls Church near the BBC were demolished. What you see today are buildings designed by Architects, in the "style of Nash". Mistakenly thought to be as part of a ceremonial route from the Regent's residence at Carlton House in St James's to Regent's Park, it was in fact the idea of John Fordyce, then Surveyor-General of the Dept of Woods and Forests (now The Crown Estate). Starting as "Lower Regent Street" at its intersection with Charles II Street and Waterloo Place, it runs north to Piccadilly Circus then becomes "Regent Street" by turning westward, and curves around in a quarter-circle until it is heading north once more. It then continues past Oxford Circus becoming "Upper Regent Street" and ends at its intersection with Langham Place, Cavendish Place and Mortimer Street.

There is a yearly Regent Street Festival, and the Christmas light displays are a London tradition, with a "celebrity" being chosen annually to ceremonially light them up. As well as shops, there is a large amount of office accommodation on the upper floors of the buildings. The street features as one of the locations on the standard London version of the Monopoly board game.

History

Regent Street was named after the Prince Regent (later George IV) and formed part of the 1811 town plan prepared by John Nash to, popularly but incorrectly thought, develop a ceremonial route from the Regent's residence at Carlton House in St James's to the newly developed Regent's Park. The street still belongs to The Crown Estate, which keeps its offices adjacent to the street. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/yourmoney/15windsor.html?_r=1&em&ex=1184731200&en=a2888ff5d3cb7345&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin "New York Times", "Windows Opening on the Royal Family’s Wealth", July 15, 2007] ]

Nash planned a wide boulevard with a sweeping curve. The optimum use of pockets of Crown Estate land meant that the New Street (as Regent Street was initially known) contained a number of twists; where Portland Place joins Langham Place, and where the street enters Piccadilly Circus. The street was completed in 1825 and was an early example of town planning in England: until this point, London had grown somewhat randomly. Nash saw New Street as a clear dividing line between Soho, which was considered less than respectable, and the fashionable squares and streets of Mayfair.

20th century redevelopment

By the end of the 19th century at a time when the first leases were expiring many of the retailers in Regent Street wished to rebuild. There were three main reasons for this: first, Nash’s buildings were not of the highest quality, utilising stucco render and composition to imitate stonework; secondly, many of the buildings had already been considerably extended and were structurally suspect; thirdly, they were too small and old fashioned for the type of retail uses which were becoming popular as bespoke shopping died out.

The first redevelopment was of Regent House, just south of Oxford Circus. However, the stylistic tone for the rebuilding was set by Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Quadrant, which followed the construction of the Piccadilly Hotel, designed by Richard Norman Shaw, which opened in 1908.

Although reconstruction was driven by the need to increase the size of the shops, to meet the Edwardian aspiration for department stores, the work was delayed by the Great War and it was not until 1927 that the completion was celebrated, with King George V and Queen Mary driving in state along its length.

Regent Street is an example of Beaux Arts ‘façadism’, an architectural set piece designed to impress as it unfurls before the visitor. It is a medley of related styles and decoration, with each building having been designed individually but within strict guidelines. Each block was required to be designed with a continuing unifying façade to the street, regardless of the number of sub-divisions behind the main elevation, and they had to be finished in Portland stone with a uniform cornice level.

All the buildings in Regent Street are listed as being at least Grade II status and together they form the Regent Street Conservation Area. [The Architecture of Regent Street]

On 6 July 2004, half a million people crowded into Regent Street and the surrounding streets to watch a parade of Formula 1 cars. The success of this event has led to speculation regarding the possibility of a London Grand Prix.

elected shops and other places of note

Apple retail store

The Apple retail store opened on Regent Street at 10am on 20 November 2004. At the time this represented the first such store in Europe, and only the fourth outside the United States (the preceding three are in Japan, and since then many more have opened outside the United States). As of August 2008, the Regent Street store is the largest Apple Retail store worldwide. [cite news |first=Roland |last=Tellzen |title=Sydney Apple store to open |url=http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23883420-15306,00.html |work=Australian IT |date=2008-06-18 |accessdate=2008-08-16 ]

Austin Reed

Austin Reed's flagship store is located at 103-113 Regent Street. The store has an atrium at its centre, housing glass lifts allowing viewing across all floors. The lower ground floor sells womenswear and also houses Austin's, the refurbished 1920’s Art Deco Barber Shop, offering a full range of hair, face and body treatments for both men and women.

Broadcasting House

The BBC's headquarters are in Broadcasting House, whose front entrance is in Langham Place but easily visible from Regent St. Indeed, most Londoners think of Broadcasting House as marking the top end of Regent Street. Several national radio stations broadcast from this 1930s Art Deco building.

All Souls Church

All Souls Church, Langham Place is a church located next to Broadcasting House. Designed by John Nash, is has a distinctive circular portico surmounted with a stone spire.

Dickins & Jones

In June 2005 owner House of Fraser announced that the department store Dickins & Jones, which traces its origins to 1803 and had been located in Regent Street since 1835, would close in January 2006. The store was said to have been making losses for several years and to have failed to keep up with more fashion-conscious rivals such as its neighbour Liberty. The building has been redeveloped with small shop units on the lower floors and flats and offices above. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1657791,00.html]

Hamleys

Hamleys toy shop can be found 100 metres south of Oxford Circus on the east side of the road. Until the 1990s it was the world's largest toy store (now Toys "R" Us, in New York), with six floors devoted to playthings. The fifth floor was recently opened with an open cafe. The ground floor is always decked out with a variety of soft toys, from small puppets to life-sized giraffes, and demonstrators.

Liberty

The Liberty department store was originally known for its role at the retail end of the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts Movement styles. Set up by the entrepreneur Arthur Lasenby Liberty, who took out a loan for £2000 in 1874 and purchased 218a Regent Street. The shop opened in 1875 with only three staff. Lasenby’s shop sold ornaments, fabric and objects of art from Japan and the East. In the 1920s the now iconic Tudor-style building was designed and built by architects Edwin T. Hall and his son Edwin S. Hall, constructed from the timbers of two ships, the HMS Impregnable, and the HMS Hindustan.Fact|article|date=May 2008

Oxford Circus tube station

Oxford Circus is the junction where Regent Street crosses Oxford Street, and the site of one of the busiest of London's underground stations. The Central, Bakerloo and Victoria lines all meet here.

The Crown Estate redevelopment

Since the turn of the millennium, the Crown Estate has embarked on a major redevelopment programme in Regent Street and some of its side streets. This involves replacing some of the smaller shops with larger units. More importantly from a commercial point of view, many of the early 20th century offices, which typically for that era have many corridors and small individual offices, are being replaced with the open plan accommodation which is now required by tenants. This is being done by completing stripping out the interiors and rebuilding behind retained facades.

The Crown Estate moved its own headquarters from Carlton House Terrace to Regent Street in 2006.

The largest element of the plan is the reconstruction of the Quadrant at the southern end of the street close to Piccadilly Circus. In addition to shops and offices, a five star hotel and a small number of flats will be created here.

In pop culture

The photograph for the album cover of "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by David Bowie was shot in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street.

Transport

Notes

References

*"The Architecture of Regent Street", The Crown Estate, London, 2005

ee also

* List of eponymous roads in London

External links

* http://www.regentstreetonline.com/
* http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/