Nash, JOHN

Nash, JOHN, architect, born in London in 1752, after the usual course of training for his profession entered into some building speculations which enabled him to buy a small property in Carmarthen. Here in fresh speculations he lost much money; therefore, in 1792, he returned to London and architecture, in which he speedily rose to eminence. On the strength of a patent (1797) for improvements in the construction of the arches and piers of bridges, he claimed a great part of the credit of introducing the use of metal girders. A large part of his time was occupied in designing and constructing mansion-houses for the nobility and gentry in England and Ireland, but he is chiefly celebrated in connection with the great street improvements in London. From February 1815, when he was appointed 'architect, valuer, and agent to the Board of Woods and Forests,' down till near the end of his professional career, he was busily engaged in the planning of routes, grouping of buildings, and fixing of sites. Regent Street and the Regent's Park terraces are specimens of his designs. The Pavilion at Brighton, about which he published a book, was another of his works. He retired from his profession in 1834, and died May 13, 1835. Nash, notwithstanding his many defects, possessed great power of effective grouping, as is well shown in his works. In the architecture of mansion-houses, the designing of 'interiors' was his forte.