St John's Lodge, London

St John's Lodge is a Grade II* heritage-listed[1] private residence located in Regent's Park, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1994 it has been owned by the royal family of Brunei Darussalam[2] and is the London home of Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei.[3] St John's Lodge is located on the Inner Circle of Regent's Park, which until 1965 was in the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone and is now part of the City of Westminster.[4]

St John's Lodge
St John's Lodge, in Regent's Park, London
LocationInner Circle, Regent's Park, City of Westminster, London, England
Coordinates51.52957°N 0.15250°W / 51.52957; -0.15250
Built1812
Built forCharles Augustus Tulk
ArchitectJohn Raffield
OwnerRoyal family of Brunei Darussalam
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameSt John's Lodge, Regent's Park
Designated5 February 1970
Reference no.1277478
St John's Lodge, London is located in Greater London
St John's Lodge, London
Location of St John's Lodge in Greater London

History
1833 map of the Inner Circle of Regent's Park shows St. John's Lodge on the outside perimeter at about one o'clock and The Holme at about ten o'clock. The inside of the Inner Circle is labeled "Jenkins Nursery".
Map of the Inner Circle, c. 1833.

St John's Lodge is the first villa to be built in Regent's Park in 1812[5] and was designed for Charles Augustus Tulk by architect John Raffield. The Royal Parks service described St John's Lodge and The Holme as the only two villas remaining from John Nash's original conception of Regent's Park,[6] which would have included a royal palace.

Other owners of the lodge have included Lord Wellesley, Sir Isaac Goldsmid, and John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute.[7] The residence was occupied by the University of London's Institute of Archaeology from 1937 to 1959, and by the history and classics departments of Bedford College from 1959 to 1983. The adjoining gardens have been open to the public since 1928.[2] St John's Lodge was bought in 1987 by the development company Messila House for £9 million who doubled it in size to 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) before being sold in 1994 to the royal family of Brunei Darussalam for £40 million, making it the most expensive private house in the UK.[8]

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "St John's Lodge, Regent's Park (Grade II*) (1277478)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  2. "London Gardens Online". London Gardens Online. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  3. "Is the party over for runaway billionaire Prince Jefri of Brunei?". The Daily Telegraph. London. 14 June 2008.
  4. Westminster Boundary (Map). City of Westminster. 2008. LA 100019597 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  5. "Regent'S Park Add". London-footprints.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. Regent's Park: History Royal Parks
  7. Blair, David Hunter. "John Patrick, Third Marquess of Bute, K.T. A Memoir" – via Internet Archive.
  8. Spackman, Anne (15 December 1994). "Sultan pays record £40m for park lodge". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2017.

Bibliography


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