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Regent's Park

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Royal Parks of London

Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north of the City of Westminster and spills east into the London Borough of Camden.

The 487 acre (2.0 km²) area contains Primrose Hill with a great view of Westminster and the City. The public space at the centre is mainly open parkland which supports a wide range of facilities and amenities including gardens, a lake with a heronry and waterfowl, sports pitches, enclosed children's playgrounds, and a well-known Open Air Theatre which runs in summer. It also contains Queen Mary's Gardens.

The north-east end of the park contains London Zoo. Running through the zoo and around the north end of the park is Regent's Canal which joins the Grand Union Canal to the west.

History

The bandstand and the boating lake in Regent's Park
The bandstand and the boating lake in Regent's Park

Architect John Nash was commissioned by the Prince Regent (later King George IV) in 1811 to develop an area then known as Marylebone Park. With the Regent's backing, Nash created a master plan for the area, put into action from 1818 onwards, which stretched from St James's northwards and included Regent Street, the Park and its neighbouring streets, terraces and crescents of elegant town houses and villas. Nash did not complete all the detailed designs himself; in some instances, completion was left in the hands of other architects such as the young Decimus Burton.


Drinking fountains in Regent's Park
Drinking fountains in Regent's Park
A fountain in Regent's Park
A fountain in Regent's Park


Transport

Nearest Tube

Nearest Railway




There are also Regent's Parks in a number of other cities, see Regent's Park (Toronto). Regent's Park College is a Permenent Private Hall at the University of Oxford.

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