Update: Every once in a while, I plan to revisit old posts to update links and include additional information, as in this instance. My original post about John Nash (1752-1835) was woefully inadequate.
John Nash’s buildings exemplified the neoclassical style of early 19th Century Architecture. His sweeping changes transformed London, from the graceful curve of Regent Street to the majestic terraces and vistas in Regent’s Park, to the clearing of the area which was to become Trafalgar Suare. John Nash’s transformations reflected the Prince Regent’s grand plan for London. J.B. Priestly wrote in The Prince of Pleasure:
Over and over above [the Prince’s] collections and rebuilding of royal houses, there was his grand plan, designed and carried out by John Nash, of demolishing a clutter of little streets and miserable buildings to drive a broad way, as straight as possible, between Carlton House and the newly created Regent’s Park, itself one of the most charming city parks in the world. Some of Nash’s work has gone, notably Regent Street as he left it, but the broad thoroughfares and his delightful terraces are still with us. (The Prince of Pleasure, p 290)
View some of his edifices below:
More About John Nash:
- Biography
- John Nash (includes links to some of his work)
- Gardens designed by John Nash
- View images of his beautiful terraces here
- 3 London Buildings by John Nash: Marble Arch, Theatre Royal, All Souls Church
- Trafalgar Square: Live web cam
View a Powerpoint Presentation here: Modern Architecture: Nash and the Regency
Jane Austen's World 
[…] 30, 2006 by Ms. Place View the updated version of this post here. John Nash’s buildings exemplified the neoclassical style of early 19th Century Architecture. […]
I live almost in the shadow of the Brighton Pavilion (and actually in the shadow of the adjoining Prince Regent swimming pool). The Prince Regent commissioned the Royal Pavilion from John Nash in 1815, as Jane Austen was dedicating Emma to the Prince Regent.
While John Nash may have made a mark on London, the modern identity of the city of Brighton and Hove is pretty much defined by the Brighton Pavilion (see, for example, top-left of the home page of the city council).
Thank you for pointing this out, Chris. I wrote a few posts about Brighton several years ago, some of which need revising and editing. Here are the links:
Brighton Pavillion
Brighton: A Popular Seaside Resort
[…] was reminded on reading John Nash: The Prince Regent’s Architect at Jane Austen’s World of the mark that the Prince and his architect John Nash left on […]
Your articles are very good and I don’t think they need any updating. I just wanted to add a bit of local colour–something that you can really only appreciate by living here a bit–just how much the Prince and his palace are completely representative of Brighton.
Indeed if you were to bring your articles up-to-date you would see lots of ugly scaffolding on the Pavilion while they carry out some renovations–better to wait for them to finish.
As you can see from the above pingback I have amplified the comment into a more substantial article on the Prince Regent suggesting why he might have taken to the novels, given that (according to many) he was a prime example of everything JA was warning about.
Thanks for this. I have just been researching Charles Bulfinch, Boston’s version of Nash, and so was very grateful for your post here.
[…] Bulfinch is, however, worthy of note – like John Nash in London (see more here), Bulfinch was a man with a plan, whose designs shaped the architecture of early Boston, […]