Buckingham Palace forms the architectural core of the palace was built for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 to the design of William Winde. The style chosen was of a large, three-floored central block with two smaller flanking service wings. Buckingham House was eventually sold by Buckingham's natural son, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1761 to George III for £21,000. Sheffield's leasehold on the mulberry garden site, the freehold of which was still owned by the royal family, was due to expire in 1774. Under the new Crown ownership, the building was originally intended as a private retreat for King
John Nash (architect) John Nash (architect) John Nash (18 January 1752 – 13 May 1835) was a Welsh architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London under the patronage of the Prince Regent, and during his reign as George IV. Nash was also a pioneer in the use of the Picturesque in architecture. His best-known buildings are the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and Buckingham Palace (though the facade facing The Mall is an early 20th-century remodelling by Aston Webb of an 1850s wing by Edward Blore, and thus is not Nash's work). Many of his buildings were built by the property developer