Inventory Site Record

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

Regent's University London was formerly occupied by Bedford College, set up in the mid C19th for the higher education of women, which moved to South Villa in Regent's Park in 1908, when new buildings were erected. It continued as such until the 1990s when Regent's College took over the site and mainly ran business courses for foreign nationals. In 2013 the college was awarded university status and it is now Regent's University London. Bedford College had an interesting botany garden, which had included rare specimens, but it was landscaped over when Bedford College left the site. The former botanic garden has since been nurtured as a 'secret garden' as part of the landscape work undertaken in the grounds. The gardens include a sub-tropical rockery by the lake near what may be an old police 'lock-up'; a conservatory garden, open lawns, fine mature trees, and an oriental-themed garden 'room'. Two students from the US who died in the Lockerbie plane crash are commemorated with trees in the gardens.

Previous / Other name:

South Villa; Bedford College; Regent's College

Site location:

Junction of York Bridge/Inner Circle, Regent's Park

Postcode:

NW1 4NS

What 3 Words:

stray.dark.cable

Type of site:

Institutional Grounds

Borough:

Westminster

Open to public?

Occasionally

Opening times:

private but open for OGSW, National Gardens Scheme and private visits
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 7 times, most recently in 2018.

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Open for National Gardens Scheme and private visits

Public transport:

Tube: Baker Street (Bakerloo, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City). Bus: 13, 18, 27, 30, 74, 82, 113, 139, 159, 274.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

21/07/2022

Last minor changes:

21/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.regents.ac.uk

Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.

Having been a Crown Estate since 1539, the area of Regent's Park was largely farmland by the end of the C18th. Schemes to develop the area as a public park (first named Marylebone Park) were considered from c.1809, and from 1812 until c.1830 John Nash's plan of 1811 (with modifications) was implemented, the public area being opened in 1835 as The Regent's Park (q.v.). The site of Regent's Park is roughly circular, bounded by Prince Albert Road from west to north-north-east, Albany Street to east, Park Square and Park Crescent (q.v.) to south-east, various terraces to south, and by Park Road to south-west. Within this approximate boundary, the Grand Union Canal (laid out 1812-20) runs for 1.75km inside Prince Albert Road, enclosing Outer Circle Road, which extends all the way round the main area of the park. Lesser, inner roads include the Inner Circle, in the south centre of the park, linked to the Outer Circle by York Bridge Road to south, and by Chester Road to east. The Broad Walk runs north-south across the east side of the park, linked with Albert Road, the Outer Circle and Chester Road.

Nash's original plan envisaged the extensive combination of terraced houses and detached villas within a spacious landscaped park. While details of his plan were much modified, the overall conception was, and remains his own. The main landscape feature is the curving lake, with islands, in the south-west quarter of the park. Round the Inner Circle, to the east of the lake, several private villas were built, with their own gardens, including The Holme (or Holme House) and St John's Lodge (q.v.).

Subsequent development has been varied. In 1835 the Royal Botanic Society acquired c.7½ hectares for its buildings and gardens within the Inner Circle and in 1932 this site was taken over for garden development, laid out as Queen Mary's Gardens, with a noted rose garden, and an open air theatre in the north-west. In 1827 the Royal Zoological Society acquired a site in the northern quarter of the park, eventually 14½ha, for the zoological gardens. Decimus Burton designed various buildings, 1826-47. There was continuous development of the surrounding area into the later C20th such as the Central London Mosque, built 1974-82 on the western boundary.

When University College London was founded in 1828 it provided higher education for the first time but only for men. In 1849 a Ladies College was founded by Mrs Elisabeth Reid and opened in Bedford Square (q.v.). In 1908, following a legacy, Bedford College took a lease from the Crown on South Villa in the Inner Circle in Regent's Park and a number of academic buildings were built, including the present Tate Library and laboratories for science, which was an essential part of the College's first programmes, together with the arts and humanities, and teacher training. The north-west wing of Bedford College designed by Basil Champney was built in 1910-13. An Astronomical Observatory was opened by the Astronomer Royal and remains at the college. Although South Villa was demolished its former lodge, built in c.1827 and attributed to Decimus Burton remains at the entrance to the college. Student accommodation was provided in Reid Hall, and sport was popular activity among students, particularly given the nearby park. In 1965 male undergraduates were admitted. In 1984 the Crown lease was taken by Rockford College, Illinois, which opened Regent's College in 1985 primarily to provide a 'study abroad' programme, with courses with a clear British focus, and since then other institutions have also moved onto the campus, Regent's College becoming a multi-disciplinary campus community of 7 world-renowned schools. In 2012 Regent's College gained its own taught-degree awarding powers and the following year the institution was awarded university status, becoming Regent's University London in June 2013.

Sources consulted:

History on Regent's University London website: https://www.regents.ac.uk/about/history-of-regents

Grid ref:

TQ280824 (528044,182371)

Size in hectares:

4.455

Site ownership:

Regent's University London

Site management:

Regent's University London

Date(s):

C19th; 1908-13

Designer(s):

Campus: Basil Champneys)

Listed structures:

LBII: North-west Wing of Bedford College (Reid Hall); Lodge of demolished South Villa

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

Yes (within Regent's Park)

NHLE grade:

Grade I

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Regent's Park

Tree Preservation Order:

To be checked

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Metropolitan Importance

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Other LA designation:

None

Regent's University London, lawns with Reid Hall (left) and Tuke Building (right), June 2006. Photograph Sally Williams

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