Regent Street was built to connect Vauxhall Bridge Road with Horseferry Road.
The area was historically situated between two Thames tributaries: the Tyburn and Westbourne rivers. The Westbourne marked Westminster’s boundary to the west, whilst the Tyburn flowed through Mayfair before meeting the Thames near Parliament Square. This created marshy terrain interspersed with gravel outcrops, most notably Thorney Island where Westminster Abbey was built.
Despite the early establishment of palaces and churches around Thorney Island, the land to the south remained largely untouched. Until Saxon times, the area comprised wild marshland crossed by waterlogged channels.
Evidence indicates a ’Toot Hill’ - an elevated observation point - once stood near the present junction of Regency Street and Horseferry Road.
The medieval period saw this open space, extending northwest from Millbank and south of Westminster Abbey, become known as Tothill Fields. The area served multiple purposes: kings from Westminster Palace held tournaments there whilst locals used it for cattle grazing, vegetable growing, horse racing, archery practice, military displays and animal baiting contests.
Roque’s map of 1746 shows the area as fields with a path leading south from the Horse Ferry Road. This follows roughly the line of Regent Street.
The development of this district was triggered by the 1816 opening of Vauxhall Bridge Road. Regent Street connected this new thoroughfare to Horseferry Road. The area’s character was significantly influenced by Millbank Penitentiary, Britain’s first national prison, built in 1813.
The area underwent swift urbanisation over the following four decades. By 1870, modest terraced houses had been built along local streets. The neighbourhood became increasingly impoverished and overcrowded as the Victorian era drew to a close.
The road’s name changed to Regency Street in 1877.
The Underground Map project is creating street histories for the areas of London and surrounding counties lying within the M25.
The aim of the project is to find the location every street in London, whether past or present, and tell its story. This project aims to be a service to historians, genealogists and those with an interest in urban design.
The website features a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s. You can see how London grows over the decades. |
Regent Street was built to connect Vauxhall Bridge Road with Horseferry Road. 
