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St John's Lodge Gardens
Located just off the inner circle of Regent's Park is a unique hidden gem, the gardens of St John's Lodge.
The Lodge was the first of 48 mansions planned for the Park back in 1818 (in the end, only 8 were constructed) and is a private residence owned by the royal family of Brunei. However the majority of the gardens are open to the public.
The space has a wonderful meditative quality, which was indeed the brief given back to the architect, Robert Weir Schulz back in 1892. Arranged as a series of rooms on axis with the villa, it includes sunken lawns, a circular garden and a pool where a statue of Hylas and the Nymph is featured.
Have to say, it looks rather splendid in the midst of the autumn colours.
Very easy to miss the hidden entrance via a pergola which is one of the things that makes it so enchanting. You enter with no idea of what will appear as you make a left turning at the end of the short walkway.