Blackfriars Road) to house the Leverian Museum, for land agent and museum proprietor James Parkinson. However, whereas Burton was vigorously industrious, and quickly became 'most gratifyingly rich', Nash's early years in private practice, and his first speculative developments, which failed either to sell or let, were unsuccessful, and Nash's consequent financial shortage was exacerbated by the 'crazily extravagant' wife, whom he had married before he had completed his training, until he was declared bankrupt in 1783. To resolve his financial shortage, Nash cultivated the acquaintance of Burton, and Burton consented to patronize him. James Burton was responsible for the social and financial patronage of the majority of Nash's London designs, in addition to for their construction. Architectural scholar Guy Williams has written, 'John Nash relied on James Burton for moral and financial support in his great enterprises. Decimus had showed precocious talent as a draughtsman and as an exponent of the classical style... John Nash needed the son's aid, as well as the father's'. Subsequent to the Crown Estate's refusal to finance them, James Burton agreed to personally finance the construction projects of John Nash at Regent's Park, which he had already been commissioned to construct: consequently, in 1816, Burton purchased many of the leases of the proposed terraces around, and proposed villas within, Regent's Park, and, in 1817, Burton purchased the leases of five of the largest blocks on Regent Street. The first property to be constructed by Burton in the vicinity of Regent's Park was his own mansion: The Holme, which was designed by his son, Decimus Burton, and completed in 1818. Burton's extensive financial involvement 'effectively guaranteed the success of the project'. In return, Nash agreed to promote the career of Decimus Burton. Such were James Burton's contributions to the project that the Commissioners of Woods described James, not Nash, as 'the architect of Regent's Park'. Contrary to popular belief, the dominant architectural influence in many of the Regent's Park projects (including Cornwall Terrace, York Terrace, Chester Terrace, Clarence Terrace, and the villas of the Inner Circle, all of which were constructed by James Burton's company) was Decimus Burton, not John Nash, who was appointed architectural 'overseer' for Decimus's projects. To the chagrin of Nash, Decimus largely disregarded his advice and developed the Terraces according to his own style, to the extent that Nash sought the demolition and complete rebuilding of Chester Terrace, but in vain. Decimus