Chester Terrace is one of the neo-classical terraces in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, London. The terrace has the longest unbroken facade in Regent's Park, of about .Images of England: National Monuments Record
/ref> It takes its name from one of the titles of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

before he became king,

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...

.Weinreb, B. and Hibbert, C. (ed) (1983) ''The London Encyclopaedia'' Macmillan It now lies within the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. As with

Cornwall Terrace Cornwall Terrace (also 1-21 Cornwall Terrace) is a Grade I listed buildings in London, Grade I listed building of consecutive Terraced house, terraced mansions overlooking Regent's Park in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated at the p ...

and

York Terrace York Terrace overlooks the south side of Regent's Park in Marylebone, City of Westminster, London, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north ...

, the architectural plans were made by John Nash but subsequently altered almost beyond recognition by

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

, who was responsible for the existing design, built by his father

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

in 1825. Nash was so dissatisfied with Decimus's design that he sought the demolition and complete rebuilding of the Terrace, but in vain. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Architecture

All 42 houses are Grade I

s. At each end there is a Corinthian arch bearing at the top the terrace's name in large lettering on a blue background, possibly the largest street signs in London. Five houses are semi-detached. One of these, Nash House (3 Chester Terrace, although the main entrance is in Chester Gate), has a bust of John Nash on its west side, appearing identical to the bust on All Souls Church, Langham Place. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Nash buildings around the park, including Chester Terrace, fell into what one newspaper called "a sad state of neglect … caused by bombing and the ravages of time"."The Glory of John Nash's London", ''The Sphere'', 13 September 1952, p. 395 An official report commented "there is not a single terrace which does not give the impression of hopeless dereliction". Restoration work followed in the early 1950s. The terrace was mainly occupied by government departments during and after the war, but by 1957 the freeholder of the terrace, the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

, had adopted the policy of returning it, and the other Nash terraces, to private residential use, as recommended ten years earlier in the report of a government committee on the post-war future of the terraces."Nash Houses Turned Down As a New "Whitehall", ''Illustrated London News'', 26 April 1947, p. 423

Former residents

There are two blue plaques on the street: one at No. 13 for the architect

Charles Robert Cockerell Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. H ...

, and one at No. 27 for Air Marshal

John Salmond Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Maitland Salmond, (17 July 1881 – 16 April 1968) was a British military officer who rose to high rank in the Royal Flying Corps and then the Royal Air Force. During the First World War he served as a squ ...

. The politician

John Profumo John Dennis Profumo, CBE,( ; 30 January 1915 – 9 March 2006) was a British politician whose career ended in 1963 after a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old model Christine Keeler in 1961. The scandal, which became known as the Profumo a ...

lived at the aforementioned Nash House, No. 3 Chester Terrace, from 1948 until 1965. His former mistress Christine Keeler later lived in the nearby Chester Close North. The composer

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

lived at No. 19 from 1911 to 1918. The actor

Sir Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

and his wife

Meriel Forbes Meriel Forbes, Lady Richardson (13 September 1913 – 7 April 2000) was an English actress. She was a granddaughter of Norman Forbes-Robertson and great-niece of Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson. After making her stage debut with her father's tour ...

lived at No. 1 Chester Terrace until 1983. Other residents of Chester Terrace have included the artist

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He ...

, the architect Charles Cockerell, the surgeon

William Coulson William Coulson (1802 – 1877) was an English surgeon. Life The younger son of Thomas Coulson, master painter in Devonport dockyard, he was born at Penzance; Walter Coulson was an elder brother. His father was a close friend of Sir Humphry D ...

, the swindler

Leopold Redpath Leopold Redpath (12 May 1816 - 1 May 1891) was a clerk of the Great Northern Railway Company who perpetrated a notorious fraud against his employers and was transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. ...

, and the journalist

Emma Tennant Emma Christina Tennant FRSL (20 October 1937 – 21 January 2017) was an English novelist and editor of Scottish extraction, known for a post-modern approach to her fiction, often imbued with fantasy or magic. Several of her novels give a femini ...

, who was born there.

In popular culture

This location was used for '' The Avengers'' episode "You'll Catch Your Death" (1968). It featured in the 1997 film version of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

's ''

Keep The Aspidistra Flying ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'', first published in 1936, is a socially critical novel by George Orwell. It is set in 1930s London. The main theme is Gordon Comstock's romantic ambition to defy worship of the money-god and Social status, statu ...

''. It is a major location in the film ''

The End of the Affair ''The End of the Affair'' is a 1951 novel by British author Graham Greene, as well as the title of two feature films (released in 1955 and 1999) that were adapted from the novel. Set in London during and just after the Second World War, the n ...

'' (1955). It also features in the film ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...

'' (1965). It is shown in the 1968

Robert Wise Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...

musical film '' Star!'', in a brief scene during which

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

(played by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

) receives a

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

for unpaid bills. The location is also featured in the film ''

Mrs Henderson Presents ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' is a 2005 biographical musical film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Martin Sherman. It stars Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, and Will Young (in his acting debut). It tells the true story of Laura He ...

'' as the home of Laura Henderson (played by

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

Gallery

File:Chester Terrace N 2.jpg, North end File:Chester Terrace 01.JPG, South end File:Chester Terrace 02.JPG

References

{{Reflist

External links

Chester Terrace in 1827
Painting by

Thomas H. Shepherd Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (16 January 1793, France – 1864) was a British topographical watercolour artist well known for his architectural paintings. Life and work Thomas was the brother of topographical artist George "Sidney" Shepherd ...