Inventory Site Record

Claremont Square was developed around the Upper Pond or 'New Reservoir' of the New River Company, which had been provided in 1708/9 as an extension of the New River Head to serve this area of Islington. The railed reservoir had garden walks around it that were only accessible to the privileged few. The terraced houses of Claremont Square were built when the New River Company began to develop their estate for housing in the 1820s. In the 1850s the reservoir was drained, covered and turfed over, the central area raised and enclosed by a high brick wall so that the former reservoir became a high flat-topped mound with steep sides.

Site location:

Claremont Square

Postcode:

N1

What 3 Words:

leaps.stars.media

Type of site:

Private Open Land

Borough:

Islington

Open to public?

No

Opening times:

no access

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Angel (Northern). Bus: 4, 19, 30, 38, 43, 56, 73, 153, 205, 214, 341, 394, 476

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Research updated:

01/04/2012

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.thameswater.co.uk

Water was pumped from the New River Head (q.v.) to the new reservoir, which had a sluice-house to the south. As the area became increasingly populated, the water needed to be raised an additional 30 feet and a huge cast-iron pipe in the shape of an inverted U was erected, apparently to the mystification of passers-by. The reservoir was railed and had garden walks around it only accessible to the privileged few. At one time on a hill adjacent to the reservoir and with views towards the City was a C17th pleasure ground with a railed bowling green and Busby's Folly, a tearoom that later became the Belvedere Tavern. In the 1830s the tavern had gardens with gravelled walks, the remains of the old bowling green and a racket court behind it that was in use until the tavern was rebuilt in 1876.

In 1821-28 four terraces that comprised Claremont Square were erected around the reservoir when the New River Company began to develop their estate for housing. The name Claremont derives from the mansion in Surrey where the then Prince and Princess of Wales went to live in 1816. In the 1850s the New Reservoir, together with the Round Pond at New River Head, was drained and the water piped, covered and turfed following the 1852 Metropolis Water Act that decreed that no standing water could remain uncovered in the London area. The hooped pipe became redundant and the central area was raised and enclosed by a high brick wall, the former reservoir becoming a high flat-topped mound with steep sides. In 1885 local resident John Cross of 4 Mylne Street complained to the New River Company about its neglected appearance, describing it as 'a large enclosure containing a mound which...is planted with grass and a few shrubs, the seeds of which apparently dropped there by accident in some past age'. His suggestion that it 'might be made very pretty, and a great pleasure to the thousands of people who pass by it every day' appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

Today the north side of the square is cut off by Pentonville Road; the railed central area is of interest for nature conservation, having good neutral grassland and diverse wild flowers. Exotic shrubs, laburnum and sycamore are planted at the base of the reservoir's sloping sides and to the west is a colony of spiked sedge.

Sources consulted:

Mary Cosh, 'The Squares of Islington', part 1: Finsbury and Clerkenwell', Kinnaird Print, 1990.

Grid ref:

TQ311830 (531168,183061)

Size in hectares:

0.6

Site ownership:

Thames Water

Site management:

Thames Water

Date(s):

1821-28

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: Most surrounding houses early to mid C19th; attached C19th railings.

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

New River

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough Importance II

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None

Claremont Square - Photo: London Gardens Trust
Date taken: 14/10/21 11:53

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