Cumberland Terrace

Cumberland Terrace is one of the many terraces on the outskirts of Regent’s Park in central London. The terraces and villas were designed to be residential locations for friends and favorites of the ruling monarch at the time, though the more modern usage for Cumberland Terrace is as domestic homes. Many of the buildings have been converted into luxury flats which are rented out at incredible prices, though some of the family all together homes to remain.

The terrace was the creation of John Nash, an architect who lived between 1732 to 1835. Nash was a hugely popular architect of the period, and a favorite of the man who would be king; the Prince of Wales and later Prince Regent, George. George, who would become George IV, was declared Regent of Britain when his father, George III, was deemed unfit to rule. For a period, George fulfilled the roles of both Prince of Wales and Prince Regent, ruling in his father’s place. When George III died, his son and Regent became George IV.

It is, however, the regency of George IV that has left a thorough stamp on modern London – Cumberland Terrace is just one example. The man who would be King was determined to create a London never seen before, and used the length of his regency – between 1811 and 1820 – to do so. The period is now referred to as the English Regency, an era known for fashion, style and outlandish spending of wealth.

The architect Nash was a favorite of George, and benefited hugely from the English Regency. Nash was commissioned to build and design Regent’s Park, which although is now a public park was once for the Regent. The park was commissioned on the basis that a palace would be built nearby and therefore grand grounds would be required; however, George was as flighty as he was spendthrift, and later changed his pursuit of a palace to the then-private residence of Buckingham Palace.

Regent’s Park was designed by Nash to essentially become a new fashionable place in London, even when George abandoned his plans for a palace nearby. Nash not only designed the park, but also numerous villas and terraces around the area – of which Cumberland Terrace was one. These dwellings were to be gifts, rented cheaply to the favorites of the Regent as official London residences. The idea, however, never quite took hold; perhaps, once again, due to the change of palace location to Buckingham Palace. Had a palace been built nearby, Cumberland Terrace would most probably be in the hands of the National Trust. Instead, it is still a residential location – albeit one with a monstrous price tag.

The architecture of Cumberland Terrace is classic Nash, a style which is repeated throughout London due to his popularity with George. The terrace is named after George’s younger brother, the Duke of Cumberland, though the man himself never took residence there. The terrace was completed in 1826, and is little changed since then. It remains a tribute to Georgian architecture; a style which should perhaps, more correctly, be referred to as the architectural triumphs of John Nash and his master and sponsor, George IV.