Regent's Park and Primrose Hill - Martin Sheppard

It is London's good fortune to have five royal parks near its center ? green oases in the middle of a bustling city. Of these five, the newest is Regent's Park, created in the early 19th century as part of the greatest exercise in town planning in British history. The land was part of the property of Barking Abbey during the Middle Ages and became property of the Crown since it was appropriated by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden, its 487 acres include grassland, woodland, wetland, three superb gardens, the elegant terraces devised by John Nash, the Open Air Theatre, and the London Zoo. The park is home to a remarkable range of animal and bird life and is used by millions of Londoners and visitors. In this book, superb photography brings to life the elegant prose tracing the park's history, its architecture, and its life.