Regent Street
History
A stream once ran where one of London's most graceful street stands today. Located in the heart of Central London, Regent Street is now a continuous stream of traffic and pedestrians while offering some interesting shopping.
Regent Street was planned from 1811. John Nash was the architect who designed the street in the second decade of the 19th century as a compliment to the Prince Regent, later to become George IV.
He had a vision of a wide, imperious boulevard with sweeping curves. It was designed to connect the large royal estate, then known as Marylebone Park, in the rural area north of Portland Place, with central London, with the additional benefit of improving the depressed area round Pall Mall and the Haymarket.
The street was completed in 1825 and was a masterpiece of town planning. Never before had any part of London been redeveloped with such thoroughness. London was never to have another such scheme.
From the time it was built onwards, Regent Street has been a center of London's social and commercial activity. The street was completely rebuilt from 1904 with the majority of the work done after the first world war and completed in 1927.
The last surviving original Nash building is All Souls Church. Apart from John Nash, who lived at No.14, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, the artist Whistler and T.S. Eliot could all be seen along Regent Street at one point or another.
The Cafe Royal, which was established in 1865 by a penniless Parisian wine merchant, was a good spot to bump into some famous citizens of London, much as it is now.
The Crown Estate, the overall landlord, have recently refurbished the street, giving it a new look for the millennium. An annual 'traffic-free' street festival that began in 2000, gives visitors the best opportunity to experience the best that Regent Street has to offer.
Shopping
Regent Street offers a different shopping experience from Oxford Street, bringing together: classic clothes and beautiful fashions; precious jewels, silver and gold; fine china and crystal, and rich fabric and furnishings.
It contains prestigious names such as Liberty, Austin Reed, Burberrys, Dickins & Jones, Jaeger, Hamleys, Aquascutum, Garrard and Mappin & Webb. Relative newcomers to the street include The Disney Store, Warner Bros, Reiss Menswear and Levis.
Established in 1851 as a London based tailors, Aquascutum has become an international luxury brand creating menswear, womenswear and accessories. The Aquascutum store has recently undergone a redesign of their store at 100 Regent Street.
New additions include cafe 100 on the second floor and a personal training room in the men's department. Aquascutum faces competition from Austin Reed, another traditional British brand, which has a store on Regent Street.
International labels, however, are also available. For example, in February 1996, Hugo Boss, the menswear brand, opened their first shop in the UK there. It now offers personal shopping consultants for shoppers that would like a little help.
For all its fashion stores, Regent Street would not be complete without Hamley's, the most famous toy shop in the world. It is a kid's paradise with 7 floors filled with everything from computer games to traditional teddies. Specialist collector areas, in-store magicians and demonstrators also give adults an excuse to pass their time there.
The more musically minded can head for Tower Records on the corner of Regent Street and Picadilly. Spread over three huge floors, possibly London's most famous record store offers everything the audiophile could desire.
Visually, the most famous store on Regent Street is Liberty. Its historic Tudor façade has been the front to this intriguing store, famous for selling fabrics, since 1875. Designer labels can be found on the first floor while bags, leather goods and accessories dominate the ground floor. |
| |
|
West
End Features 
