52-692: Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park ) is one of the Royal Parks of London . It occupies 410 acres (170 ha) in north-west Inner London , administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically between Marylebone and Saint Pancras parishes). In addition to its large central parkland and ornamental lake, it contains various structures and organizations both public and private, generally on its periphery, including Regent's University and London Zoo . What
104-409: A 'disparate impact' on black and ethnic minority workers, as they are more likely to be outsourced agency workers". On appeal, The Royal Parks was found not guilty. Crown Estate Paving Commission The Crown Estate Paving Commission ( CEPC ) is the body responsible for managing certain aspects of the built environment around Regent's Park , London. The commissioners have been referred to as
156-673: A board of trustees, which decides how the charity is run, how it spends its money and ensures what it does is for the benefit of the parks and their visitors. The trustees are led by a chairman and are appointed for their skills and experience. Alongside some ex-officio roles, others are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). They are non-executive and unpaid. The board
208-605: A draughtsman and as an exponent of the classical style... John Nash needed the son's aid, as well as the father's". Subsequent to the Crown Estate's refusal to finance them, James Burton agreed to personally finance the construction projects of John Nash at Regent's Park, which he had already been commissioned to construct: consequently, in 1816, Burton purchased many of the leases of the proposed terraces around, and proposed villas within Regent's Park, and, in 1817, Burton purchased
260-498: A week. The 1831 diary of William Copeland Astbury describes in detail his daily walks in and around the park, with references to the Zoo, the canal, and surrounding streets, as well as features of daily life in the area. On 15 January 1867, forty people died when the ice cover on the boating lake collapsed and over 200 people plunged into the lake. The lake was subsequently drained and its depth reduced to four feet before being reopened to
312-463: A £5 million grant to transform Greenwich Park and a transformation of a former private plant nursery into a public memorial garden in The Regent’s Park . In previous years, the charity has supported restoration projects for both Bushy Park and Richmond Park , addressing long-term concerns to protect the natural habitats in the face of climate change . The Royal Parks charity is led by
364-461: Is chaired by Loyd Grossman . The executive management team is responsible for the daily operations of The Royal Parks charity, and under the leadership of the chief executive, Andrew Scattergood, they propose the organisation's policies and strategies to the board of trustees. Additionally, the team manages a workforce of staff and volunteers. The Royal Parks are owned by the Monarch in right of
416-501: Is in the London Borough of Camden and the western section is in the City of Westminster , with the boundary between them running north–south through the park. The commission's responsibilities include maintaining street lighting and street furniture in the park, maintaining the roadways of certain streets immediately surrounding the park, regulating parking in those streets, collection of domestic refuse and opening and shutting
468-475: Is mainly open parkland with a wide range of facilities and amenities, including gardens; a lake with a heronry, waterfowl and a boating area; sports pitches; and children's playgrounds. The northern side of the park is the home of London Zoo and the headquarters of the Zoological Society of London . There are several public gardens with flowers and specimen plants, including Queen Mary's Gardens in
520-619: Is now Regent's Park came into possession of the Crown upon the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s, and was used for hunting and tenant farming. In the 1810s, the Prince Regent proposed turning it into a pleasure garden. The park was designed by John Nash and James and Decimus Burton . Its construction was financed privately by James Burton after the Crown Estate rescinded its pledge to do so, and included development on
572-565: Is used by road cyclists . One circuit is 4.45 km. A number of amateur cycling clubs that meet regularly to complete laps of the Outer Circle for exercise and leisure. Prominent clubs include: Regent's Park Rouleurs (RPR), London Baroudeurs (LBCC), Islington Cycling Club (ICC), Cycle Club London (CCL), Rapha Cycle Club (RCC). Many cyclists track & log their rides using the online social network site Strava. As at January, 2018 – some 22,000 cyclists had completed & logged 1.6mn laps of
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#1732775572269624-692: The Crown Estate Paving Commissioners or the Crown Paving Commissioners . The CEPC was established by statute in 1824. It fulfills some local government functions, and it is one of the few bodies in the United Kingdom still empowered to levy rates on residential property. Although it has local government functions and tax-raising powers, its members are not elected but are appointed by the Lords of
676-600: The CEPC to lay a new pathway in the park, as part of the construction of a London Las Ramblas , designed by noted British urban architect Sir Terry Farrell , after the original in Barcelona . CEPC commissioner Sir John Ritblat was also on the board of the festival. Since 1851 the area of the commission has been Regent's Park between the Outer Circle and, clockwise from Gloucester Gate, Albany Street, Marylebone Road, Allsop Place and Park Road to Hanover Gate. The eastern section
728-628: The Crown; however, under the Crown Lands Act 1851 , statutory responsibility for the management and upkeep rests with the government. From 1993 until 2017, The Royal Parks Agency managed the parks on behalf of the Secretary of State . In 2017, The Royal Parks Charity was created to manage the parks under a contract with the government. Appointments to the charity’s Board are made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport , as well as
780-571: The Inner Circle is dominated by Regent's University London , home of the European Business School London , Regent's American College London (RACL) and Webster Graduate School among others. Abutting the northern side of Regent's Park is Primrose Hill , another park which, with a height of 64 m (210 ft), has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to
832-469: The Inner Circle, in which the Open Air Theatre stands; the formal Italian Gardens and adjacent informal English Gardens in the south-east corner of the park; and the gardens of St John's Lodge . Winfield House , the official residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, stands in private grounds in the western section of the park, near the capital's first large mosque . South of
884-568: The Mayor of London. The parks are open to everyone, but those using the parks are expected to adhere to regulations issued under the Parks Regulations Acts 1872 – 1926 . These regulations are deemed necessary for the proper management, maintenance, and protection of the estate. The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 (as subsequently amended) remain extant. Since 2014, Vinci Facilities has been contracted to maintain
936-482: The Prince Regent by the triplet of Nash, James Burton, and Decimus Burton: these included Regent Street and Carlton House Terrace in a grand sweep of town planning stretching from St. James's Park to Primrose Hill. The scheme is considered one of the first examples of a garden suburb and continues to influence the design of suburbs. The park was first opened to the general public in 1835, initially two days
988-768: The Royal Parks Agency – a former executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – and from the Royal Parks Foundation , which was a separate charity. With increasing urbanisation of London, some royal hunting or tenant lands were preserved as freely accessible open space and became public parks with the introduction of the Crown Lands Act 1851 . There are today eight parks formally described by this name and they cover almost 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of land in Greater London . The parks were used as hunting grounds for
1040-556: The Royal Parks board agreed to fulfill their wage demands in December 2019, backdated to 1 November. However, during the tendering process, Vinci and Royal Parks had also determined purely statutory entitlements in respect of overtime, on-call allowance, sick pay, annual leave, pensions, redundancy pay and maternity pay – and these inequalities with Royal Parks employees persisted. The two employers had allegedly repeatedly reviewed
1092-575: The Royal Parks, employing as cleaners/attendants mainly African migrants. Vinci had originally tendered separate bids cost for minimum wage staff and Living Wage staff – and its minimum wage bid was accepted, meaning that the approximately 50 cleaners/attendants were earning £8.21 an hour by 2019. Then, with several joining UVW union in pursuit of the London Living Wage (£10.75) and going on strike in October 2019 with further strikes planned,
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#17327755722691144-716: The Second World War, were relaid between 2002 and 2004, and in 2005 a new sports pavilion was constructed. On 7 July 2006 the park held an event for people to remember the events of the 7 July 2005 London bombings . Members of the public placed mosaic tiles on to seven purple petals. Later bereaved family members laid yellow tiles in the centre to finish the mosaic. Sports are played in the park including cycling , tennis , netball , athletics , cricket , softball , rounders , football , hockey , Australian rules football , rugby , ultimate Frisbee , and running . Belsize Park Rugby Football Club play their home games in
1196-463: The Treasury . It is a separate body from the Crown Estate , which holds the freehold of Regent's Park. The CEPC was established by statute in 1824, when it was given responsibility for care and maintenance of the Crown Estate from Whitehall along Regent Street to Regent's Park. Improvement commissioners each set up under private Acts were a typical 18th and 19th century solution to improving
1248-718: The Waterloo gardens in Carlton House Terrace . The CEPC was explicitly excluded from the Metropolis Management Act 1855 that otherwise reformed local government in the metropolitan area of London. The CEPC has enforced the Crown Estate Paving Act 1851 through court actions. In 1944, a Scottish MP was fined for failure to remove signs advertising a club. The 2010 London Festival of Architecture sought permission from
1300-838: The agency joined with charity the Royal Parks Foundation to form a new charity – The Royal Parks – launched in July 2017. The parks are policed by the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police (the English section of the previous force policing the parks, the Royal Parks Constabulary , has been abolished). Some funding for The Royal Parks comes from a central government grant (20%) and its own charitable fundraising (80%). The Royal Parks charity generates
1352-656: The built environment outside of the usual parish vestry system, and were empowered to levy their own rate to fund paving and improvement works. Subsequent statutes extended its responsibilities to include the maintenance of Crown Estate properties in Westminster , but under the Crown Estate Paving Act 1851 , the commission lost responsibility for managing the Regent Street, Whitehall and Westminster properties. It has retained responsibility for
1404-467: The general terms of Vinci's staff between 2014 and 2019, and Royal Parks had never opted to improve any part of their contracts. It was announced in April 2020 that the barrister Changez Khan and 15 claimants would bring a racial discrimination "landmark test case" against the Royal Parks charity. Khan claimed that "the difference in pay until December last year and ongoing difference in other conditions have
1456-438: The leases of five of the largest blocks on Regent Street. The first property to be constructed in or around Regent's Park by Burton was his own mansion: The Holme , which was designed by his son, Decimus Burton , and completed in 1818. Burton's extensive financial involvement "effectively guaranteed the success of the project". In return, Nash agreed to promote the career of Decimus Burton. Such were James Burton's contributions to
1508-447: The majority of its income from commercial activities such as catering and staging public events, as well as through grants and individual donations. The day-to-day management of each park and area is managed by a Park Manager, who receives support from a team of staff and contractors. Their responsibilities include overseeing the preservation of natural landscapes and maintaining heritage sites, roads, and other structures within and around
1560-589: The management of the park. The Crown Estate owns the freehold of Regent's Park. In the Middle Ages the land was part of the manor of Tyburn , acquired by Barking Abbey . The 1530s Dissolution of the Monasteries meant Henry VIII appropriated it, under that statutory forfeiture with minor compensation scheme. It has been state property since. It was set aside as a hunting and forestry park, Marylebone Park , from that Dissolution until 1649 after which it
1612-446: The north. Primrose Hill is also the name given to the immediately surrounding district. The public areas of Regent's Park are managed by The Royal Parks , a charity. The Crown Estate Paving Commission is responsible for managing certain aspects of the built environment of Regent's Park. The park lies within the boundaries of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden , but those authorities have only peripheral input to
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1664-539: The occupiers are also liable to pay Council Tax to Camden London Borough Council or Westminster City Council without relief for the CEPC rates assessed on them. Before 1990 residents in the CEPC area paid lower General Rates to the councils. The introduction of the Community Charge brought this to an end. CEPC applied for a Council Tax Local Discount, which would reduce the Council Tax of residents in
1716-464: The park gates. The Commission also maintains the terrace gardens adjacent to the public park. It also regulates requested modifications, such as pathways. The public park itself is managed by The Royal Parks . CEPC has statutory authority under the Crown Estate Paving Act 1851 to collect rates from the occupiers of buildings in the streets which it manages numbering about 1,200. The rates pay for matters which elsewhere are funded by Council Tax , but
1768-541: The park is reserved for pedestrians (with the exception of The Broad Walk between Chester Road and the Outer Circle, which is a shared use path ). The south, east and most of the west side of the park are lined with elegant white stucco terraces of houses designed by John Nash and Decimus Burton . Running through the northern end of the park is Regent's Canal , which connects the Grand Union Canal to London's historic docks . The 166 ha (410-acre) park
1820-600: The park using the Strava app. In 2015, Regent's Park Cyclists was formed to represent the interest of cyclists and cycling clubs that use the Inner & Outer Circle. The park was scheduled to play a role in the 2012 Summer Olympics , hosting the baseball and softball events, but these sports were dropped from the Olympic programme with effect from 2012. The Olympic cycling road race was supposed to go through Regent's Park, as
1872-600: The park. There are three playgrounds and there is boating on the lake. Sports take place in an area called the Northern Parkland, and are centred on the Hub. This pavilion and underground changing rooms was designed by David Morley Architects and Price & Myers engineers, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. It won the IStructE Award for Community or Residential Structures in 2006. The Outer Circle
1924-419: The park. There follows a list of their names as shown on Christopher and John Greenwood's map of London (second edition, 1830), with details of their subsequent fates: There are five London Underground stations located on or near the edges of Regent's Park: Citations Sources Royal Parks of London The Royal Parks make up land that was originally used for the recreation, mostly hunting , by
1976-551: The parks on behalf of the government. The Royal Parks charity follows a set vision, purpose and its values. The charity runs programmes of activities and events to encourage outdoor recreation and public access to these areas. It also allows third parties to run such activities within the grounds to further these objectives, but commercial activity is tightly controlled. The Royal Parks charity regulates non-personal filming, audio recording, and photography through licences. It issues news permits for media coverage of breaking news in
2028-463: The parks, with holders required to comply with specific legislation: As well as the eight royal parks in its care, the charity also manages Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens . It manages 5,000 acres of historic parkland in London, and its responsibilities include the preservation of 170,000 trees, 21 lakes and ponds, 15 miles of riverbed, and a population of over 1,000 wild deer. In 2010,
2080-401: The parks. The Royal Parks' charitable objects set out the main purpose of the charity and what it aims to achieve. They are: The Royal Parks declared a climate emergency in 2020 with the charity. The parks are well protected to allow the natural environment to grow, and they are considered “a huge resource of natural capital that we must conserve and enhance”, causing the parks to be branded
2132-456: The periphery of townhouses and expensive terrace dwellings. The park is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . The park has an outer ring road called the Outer Circle (4.45 km) and an inner ring road called the Inner Circle (1 km), which surrounds the most carefully tended section of the park, Queen Mary's Gardens. Apart from two link roads between these two,
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2184-531: The premises in early 1920. Queen Mary's Gardens, in the Inner Circle, were created in the 1930s, bringing that part of the park into use by the general public for the first time. The site had originally been used as a plant nursery and had later been leased to the Royal Botanic Society . In July 1982, an IRA bomb was detonated at the bandstand , killing seven soldiers . The sports pitches, which had been relaid with inadequate drainage after
2236-499: The project that the Commissioners of Woods described James, not Nash, as "the architect of Regent's Park". Contrary to popular belief, the dominant architectural influence in many of the Regent's Park projects – including Cornwall Terrace , York Terrace , Chester Terrace , Clarence Terrace , and the villas of the Inner Circle, all of which were constructed by James Burton's company – was Decimus Burton , not John Nash , who
2288-577: The public. Late in 1916, the Home Postal Depot , Royal Engineers moved to a purpose-built wooden building (200,000 sq ft) on Chester Road, Regent's Park. This new facility contained the depot's administration offices, a large parcel office and a letter office, these last two previously being at the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre . HM King George V and HM Queen Mary visited the depot on 11 December 1916. The depot vacated
2340-506: The royal family, often associated with royal residences or land formerly belonging to monasteries. In the 1500s, King Henry VIII enclosed lands to the north of the Palace of Whitehall for what is now St. James's Park and The Green Park . He also took the land that became Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens from Westminster Abbey . Over the years, there has been a gradual transition towards public accessibility for these areas. Hyde Park
2392-488: The royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown , now managed by The Royal Parks , a charity which manages eight royal parks and certain other areas of parkland in London. The Royal Parks charity was created as a company limited by guarantee in March 2017 and officially launched in July 2017. Its chief executive is Andrew Scattergood. The charity took over the main responsibilities of management from
2444-436: The then Mayor of London , Boris Johnson , proposed the devolution of control over the Royal Parks to the Greater London Authority . The government put forward proposals for this transfer later in the same year. While The Royal Parks expressed support for the plan, it was not ultimately implemented. The parks were managed by the Royal Parks Agency (an executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ) until
2496-528: The “lungs of London”. The charity launched the Help Nature Thrive programme in 2022 with the aim of enhancing sustainability and biodiversity within the capital. All parks adhere to a sustainable management plan, implementing various initiatives to safeguard the survival of natural habitats. The Royal Parks charity is committed to maintaining the gardens in order to preserve the natural habitats for local wildlife. More recent plans have included
2548-463: Was appointed architectural "overseer" for Decimus's projects. To the chagrin of Nash, Decimus largely disregarded his advice and developed the Terraces according to his own style, to the extent that Nash sought the demolition and complete rebuilding of Chester Terrace, but in vain. Decimus's terraces were built by his father James . The Regent's Park scheme was integrated with other schemes built for
2600-515: Was let as small-holdings for hay and dairy produce. Although the park was initially the idea of the Prince Regent , and was named for him, James Burton , the pre-eminent London property developer, was responsible for the social and financial patronage of the majority of John Nash 's London designs, and for their construction. Architectural scholar Guy Williams has written, "John Nash relied on James Burton for moral and financial support in his great enterprises. Decimus had showed precocious talent as
2652-402: Was opened to the public in 1673 by King Charles II. Five of these parks – The Regent’s Park , Hyde Park , Kensington Gardens , The Green Park , and St James's Park – are situated in central London . The parks are owned by the Crown, with responsibility for them resting with the Secretary of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport . The Royal Parks charity manages
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#17327755722692704-481: Was the cycling road race in the 2012 Summer Paralympics , but the routes were changed. The neoclassical terraces are grand examples of the English townhouse . Sometimes they are collectively called the "Nash terraces", but other architects contributed. Clockwise from the north, they are: Immediately south of the park are Park Square and Park Crescent , also designed by Nash. Nine villas were initially built in
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