Description
Regent's Park Terrace consists of 22 four-storey houses built c1840-50 in front of which is a private roadway and a strip of garden with a boundary wall to Oval Road. The garden was provided for the use of the tenants and lessees of the terrace, who paid an appropriate amount for its maintenance. It remains today much as it was in the early C20th, with grass, shrubs and mature trees.
Practical Information
| Site location | Regent's Park Terrace/Oval Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | NW1 7ED |
| What3Words | ///entertainer.elbow.range |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | No |
| Public Transport | Tube: Camden Town (Northern) |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Regent's Park Terrace consists of 22 four-storey houses built c1840-50 in yellow stock brick with rusticated stucco on the ground floor and attractive ironwork balconies. Nos. 1-21 form a symmetrical façade, with the end houses projecting. In front of the terrace is a private road and then a strip of garden, which was provided for the use of the tenants of the houses. In 1928, this garden enclosure was in the ownership of the Trustees of Charles Oldfield deceased, and was maintained along with the roadway through proportionate amounts paid by the various tenants and lessees. At that time, the owners were against its permanent preservation as open space, which 'would entirely spoil the value of the whole of the freeholders' adjoining ground as a building site and would prevent their availing themselves of any future contemplated scheme for building over their private roadway and the enclosure (. . .) in the event of their deciding to pull down the existing houses on the termination of the leases etc., and erect on the site a block of residential flats which are badly needed in the neighbourhood.' In the event, the terrace remained with its strip of garden much as it was in the early C20th, with grass, shrubs and mature trees, bounded by a wall to Oval Road. The garden contains remains of a stonework feature.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ286838 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0772 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | c.1840-50 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Nos.1-22 (consecutive) and attached railings |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Primrose Hill |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Private Open Space. London Squares Preservation Act 1931. |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Cecil Sharp was a key figure in reviving modern English folk music, joining the Committee of the Folk Song Society in 1904. In 1911 he founded the English Folk Dance Society; the two societies later amalgamated. Sharp died in 1924, bequeathing his library to the Society, which raised funds to buy a plot of land on which to build its national headquarters and memorial to him. Cecil Sharp House opened in June 1930 and according to original plans its triangular garden was intended as an open air theatre, although there is no evidence that it was used as such. Two curving flights of stairs lead from the building onto lawn, with a semi-circular seating area set into the wall at the apex of the triangle. The garden today contains shrubs, flowers and trees, some planted in memory of people connected to the Society.
The Regent's Canal runs from Little Venice to Limehouse Basin and is 13.5 km long. Part of the Grand Union Canal system, it was built to link the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm with the Thames. The c.2.75km Camden section begins at Regent's Park, runs through Camden Town, and leaves the borough at York Way; a former pumping house of 1898 was converted to a Lock Keeper's Cottage in 1926. Thomas Homer's proposal for the canal found approval with John Nash in 1811, at the time designing Regent's Park; Nash's associate James Morgan drew up plans in 1811, which were passed by Act of Parliament in 1812. The Regent's Canal Company was set up and the canal was fully completed in 1820. Its importance for trade was later superseded by the coming of the railways but it is now a popular public amenity.
St Mark's Church was consecrated in 1853, although plans to establish a new district within St Pancras Parish were discussed from 1848 and initially a temporary church was provided. The chancel was added in 1889-90, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield. In 1928 the new vicar was Hugh Stuckey, who was instrumental in reviving the church through difficult times, opening the garden in 1930 to visitors to London Zoo for tea parties on Summer Bank Holiday Mondays, which led to the church's nickname The Zoo Church. Rebuilt after bomb damage, the church retains its original stone wall and gateway. The garden has grass, flower beds and a number of mature trees, with numerous shrubs where the ground slopes down towards the Regent's Canal.
