\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 RegentÆs Park and the houses surrounding it are largely the product of a grandiose scheme devised by John Nash betwee
n 1812 and 1827. Nash envisaged RegentÆs Park not as a pleasure ground but as a natural setting for 40 to 50 exquisite villas so designed that ôeach should appear to possess the whole of the Parkö. In fact only a few of them were built, and NashÆs main
achievement is the succession of noble terraces in the vicinity. He originally intended the houses along RegentÆs Street itself to be embellished with ôbalustrades over colonnadesö so that the ôNobility and Gentry... could walk about and amuse themsel
ves every day of the week, instead of being frequently confined to their houses by rainö. Things do not always turn out according to plan, and the said colonnade was demolished in 1848 because it had become a convenient resort for ladies of ill-fame.
