Park Crescent, London

Park Crescent is at the north end of Portland Place and south of Marylebone Road in London. The Crescent consists of elegant stuccoed terraced houses by the architect John Nash, which form a semicircle. The Crescent is part of Nash's town-planning scheme linking central London to Regent's Park.

Park Crescent was executed under the patronage of the Prince Regent. It is reportedly held on a long lease from the Crown Estate.

At an early stage, Nash proposed the construction of a "circus" (meaning a circular development), complementing Park Crescent with another crescent to the north, but Park Square was constructed instead.

Work on Park Crescent started in 1806, but in the difficult economic conditions of the Napoleonic Wars, the builder Charles Mayor went bankrupt after six houses had been built. It was completed only in 1819 to 1821. Famous residents in the nineteenth century included Lord Lister, who, prior to his elevation to the peerage was created a baronet, of Park Crescent in the Parish of St Marylebone in the County of Middlesex.

The interiors of the buildings have been completely rebuilt. After the Second World War, Park Crescent was in poor condition (as were other Nash terraces near Regent's Park). The Gorell Report on the future of the Regent’s Park terraces recommended that the facades of Park Crescent should be saved. They were restored in the 1960s when the leases came up for renewal, and they are protected as grade I listed buildings, but behind the curve of the Crescent, the Crown Estate built new structures. Interior features which are visible from the street, such as light fittings, have to respect the Regency design of the facade.

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