Regent Place

Regent Place in Blagdon was named in 1969 after a street in Plymouth, England. Ngāmotu had a habit at the time of choosing street names directly from a list of roads in the old Plymouth, “due to historical… associations” according to Town Clerk John Putt in a letter to the Waitara Borough Council that year. Interestingly, Regent Place did not appear on the list he included, but it was chosen when the road was formed all the same.

Regent Street (as opposed to Place) in Plymouth was itself named after the famous Regent Street in London. Designed by architect John Nash, who was also responsible for Buckingham Palace, London’s Regent Street was constructed between 1813 and 1821 as a processional way for the Prince of Wales, eldest son of George III. George Augustus Frederick (1762-1830), known as Prinny, acted as Prince Regent for his father from 1811 when the king was incapacitated by mental illness.

George enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle as heir to the throne – he loved art and fashion and was known for his numerous mistresses and increasing obesity. In 1785, George illegally married Maria Fitzherbert, a Roman Catholic, which scandalised British society. He then wed the more respectable Princess Caroline of Brunswick in return for parliament paying his staggering debts, some £82,000,000 in today’s money.

He was crowned George IV in 1820 but cared little for matters of state and died virtually blind in Windsor Castle at the age of 67. George’s only child, Charlotte, had died in childbirth so the crown passed to his brother who reigned as William IV, then his niece Victoria. The Duke of Wellington described George IV as an “extraordinary compound of talent, wit, buffoonery, obstinacy, and good feeling.”

Regent’s Park in London was also named after the prince, along with more than 20 other streets and roads in the capital alone. There is a Regent Street and a Little Regent Street in Hāwera, and New Plymouth was once home to the Regent Theatre, which operated from 1930-1964 (now part of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery) and the Regent Milk Bar next door, which began life as Regent Confectionery in 1930 and closed in 1962.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related Images

Taranaki DP10359 Regent Place (1971) - ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP10360 Regent Place (1971) - ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)