13 Things You Do Not Know About Regent Street

1) Named after the Prince Regent

Regent Street was named after Prince Regent who was later known as King George IV. He ruled for 10 years (1810-1820) as Prince Regent when his father George III was unable to tackle his kingly business due to illness.  During this time, the prince lived at Carlton House where Carlton House Terrace now stands, and it was destroyed in 1829. In Regents park, the Prince Regent was planning to manufacture himself a new place. At this time, this place was considered the countryside beyond the area of London. He wanted a new road formed to join his two palaces.  In this way, the Regent Street came into existence.  Regent Street is mainly kept by Crown Estate to this day.  

2) Everything is Grade II Listed

An amazing thing about the buildings of Regent Street is they all are Grade II listed. Together they form an area that is known as Regent Street Conservation Area (PDF) which also covers other adjacent streets.  The original Regent Street of that time was designed by a well-known British architect John Nash. However, the only Nash building survived to this day is the All Souls Church. Not only being intended as royal street, but Regent Street was also built as the world’s first shopping center. Most of the new buildings were established during the era of 1904 to 1925. At this time, larger stores also began moving into the street and the present building was considered as incompatible for advanced purposes due to their old sizing and layout. During renewal, restrictions about keeping buildings uniform, use of portable stone on outer surfaces, and all buildings must be five storeys tall were still in position. The famous architects of that time including Reginald Blomfield, Richard Norman Shaw, and Henry Tanner were engaged in its redesign.

3) It’s curved for a reason

You may have it in your mind that if the street was made as a direct path between two palaces, then why it is curved rather than being a straight road. The reason behind is the issues that Nash encountered when he was designing this street. Because of some land ownership issues, Nash build it curved. The other reason was the concept that building street straight to encompass through Piccadilly Circus will place it too far from the customers of nearby wealthy area, Mayfair. 

4) Numbers

Regent Street has a great number of tourists visit each year. The street is nearly one mile long and the stores along it employs above 20,000 people spreading over 1.5 million square feet of retail space. Other than this, Regent Street contains apace for nearly 400 small offices and 750,000 square feet of area for larger offices.

5) Lights of Christmas

Seeing Christmas lights display in London is amongst the best memories of many people. The first Christmas lights display was in 1954. Before this, a small part of the street was lighted up in 1949. Before this, Christmas trees lit up the street in the festive period.  There were no Christmas lights display during the era of 1972 to 1977 due to a lack of funding.

6) No skyscrapers allowed

As the whole area is listed that’s why rules are employed for new development. There is another reason for which building taller from five storeys are banned in Regent Street.   In London, certain laws ban the construction of tall buildings that can block the views of iconic buildings.  To protect the views of the Palace of Westminster, the construction of tall buildings in surrounding areas is banned.

7) The oldest shop

Another interesting thing about the place is an old cafe that was opened in 1865 at 68 Regent Street. Café Royal remained the same throughout until it locked down in 2008. During the whole time, it served royals and celebrities. After getting shut, the development of Hotel Café Royal began which completed in four years of period.  

8)  (Not) for sale

For those who want to put their building for sale in Regent Street, they must get permission first from Westminster City Council. Owners of houses, offices, flats, and shops cannot put their boards up without permission. Even there is a time that no one ever saw a for sale board for buildings which depict that Westminster City Council is very strict about giving permissions. Other than this, there are also some strict rules about the structure, sizing, position, and color of posters that shops can put on their facades.

9) Famous Kid Store

In 1760, William Hamley accomplished his dream of opening the world’s biggest toy shop. At this time this store was known as Noah’s Ark situated in High Holborn. The shop contained every kind of toy ranging from rag dolls to tin soldiers.  His store became so famous that he decided to open a new branch in Regent Street as well. In 1881 he did this job. 

10) Up All Night

When it comes to shopping, Regent Street is the place to must-visit. It is home to many upscale brands. According to Tim Moore, Regent Street is the inventor of late-night shopping in Britain.  Even late in 1850, retailers decided to keep stores open till 7 pm to satisfy the needs of customers.  

11) Regent Street station

You might not believe but it’s true, Regent Street station exist in Sydney, Australia. There are a lot of other Regent Streets in the world including New York, Nova Scotia, and Pennsylvania. Many were named after this street.

12) The Salviati Mosaic

235 Regent Street which is now home to Apple Store was occupied by Salviati, a mosaic, and glassmaking firm from Murano island in Venice. In 1998, the corporation decorated the exterior of its Regent Street buildings with a convoluted mosaic, that consisted of four coats of arms and two lions.  It represents the cities of Westminster and London and the Venetian islands of Burano and Murano. The mosaics were reinstated in 1999 and can still be praised today. 

13) Nickname

Due to the largest trend of shopping and its length, Regent Street is also known as “Mile of Style”.

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