John Nash (1752-1835), English architect and town planner, was one of the principal architects of the Regency period.

John Nash was born in London in September 1752. He began his career in the office of Sir Robert Taylor. In 1777 Nash established his own practice, but he went bankrupt in 1783 and moved to Wales, where he built country houses, cottages, and various minor public works. By 1791 he had achieved considerable success.

In 1796 Nash returned to London and entered into a partnership with the landscape gardener Humphrey Repton (dissolved in 1802). In 1798 Nash designed a conservatory at Brighton for the Prince of Wales (later King George IV), and he became an intimate member of the prince's circle. During the next 15 years Nash designed a number of remarkable country houses in the form of picturesque pseudomedieval castles, such as East Cowes Castle, Isle of Wright, for himself (1798); Luscombe, South Devon (1800-1804); West Grinstead...