St John's Lodge is the first villa to be built in Regent's Park in 1812[5] and was designed for Charles Augustus Tulk by architect John Raffield. The Royal Parks service described St John's Lodge and The Holme as the only two villas remaining from John Nash's original conception of Regent's Park,[6] which would have included a royal palace.
Other owners of the lodge have included Lord Wellesley, Sir Isaac Goldsmid, and John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute.[7] The residence was occupied by the University of London'sInstitute of Archaeology from 1937 to 1959, and by the history and classics departments of Bedford College from 1959 to 1983. The adjoining gardens have been open to the public since 1928.[2] St John's Lodge was bought in 1987 by the development company Messila House for £9 million who doubled it in size to 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) before being sold in 1994 to the royal family of Brunei Darussalam for £40 million, making it the most expensive private house in the UK.[8]
