Part of an ancient Roman highway linking Hampshire with Colchester, and London with Oxford to the west, Oxford Street was created in a land surrounded by fields, where the River Tyburn flowed to the south. This new street would go on to serve as the border between Westminster and the Parish of Marylebone.

The Earl of Oxford decided that this land could best be developed as a retail and entertainment region, so he began transforming it in the late 1700s. Local landowners also participated in improving the region by constructing residential communities on the land adjacent to the street.

Regent Street has a distinctive architectural style, which made it renowned throughout Europe soon after its construction. The Prince Regent wanted a route between the recently-built Regent Park and his residence in St. James, London, so he had John Nash design and build the road, which was completed in 1825. Roughly a century later, its architecture underwent a major renovation, being upgraded to Beaux-Arts styling.

Oxford Circus is a cherished historical landmark, because it reflects the earliest urban enhancements of London, although its earliest history includes multiple public hangings which occurred on the Tyburn Gallows until the mid-1750s. It is a road junction which encircles the Portland, Mayfair and Soho estates.

It became a part of the Nash urban development scheme of 1813-20 and was developed according to the Nash design. Although this design is no longer featured in the area because it was changed to the Tanner design from 1911, you can still see a piece of the region’s Nash design history, the Marble Arch. This arch was initially built as the western entrance for the Buckingham Palace estate, but it was moved to its new home to be the gateway to Oxford Circus from the west.

Old Bond Street is one of the earlier developments, originally built in 1686, but which is no longer on the surface map. It is named after Sir Thomas Bond, who purchased the region from the Duke of Albemarle by pooling funds with various other wealthy entrepreneurs.

New Bond Street was built in 1721, to link Old Bond Street with Oxford Street. Both Old Bond Street and New Bond Street were lined with small shops to support the nearby residential communities, but by the early 18th century they were attracting so many fashion tourists from around London that many luxurious retail shops appeared on them. Even today, New Bond Street still hosts the original auction house for the famous auction company, Sotheby’s.

Today, you won’t find many of the quaint, domestically-scaled shops that were so common during the Georgian period. The West End was almost exclusively comprised of ground-level, single-width shopfronts during this era. Retailers like Asprey, on New Bond Street, have combined several smaller shops into larger shops, which has helped preserve a bit of London’s West End architectural heritage.

We are prominent commercial estate agents who are devoted to helping you discover your ideal office space for rent in Central London. If your business is looking for a commercial property or you would like further information on Central London office to let we can help. Our contact information is available on our website.

London’s West End: Centuries Of Urban Development is a post from: WiredWriter