New River Head Revetment Of Old Inner Or Round Reservoir Pound

ISLINGTON

TQ3182NW ROSEBERY AVENUE 635-1/68/739 (North West side) 29/09/72 New River Head: Revetment of old Inner or Round Reservoir Pond

GV II

Resevoir Revetment. Northern half of revetment of old Inner or Round Reservoir Pond, drained in 1913 and now used for parking and builders' storage for Thames Water Headquarters Building (formerly called New River Head/Metropolitan Water Board). c.1609-1613 by Stephen Bone, bricklayer; remodelled with iron pile revetment, 1841-1842 by W. C. Mylne, Surveyor to the New River Company; new retaining wall and York paving to bottom, 1854 by George Mansfield under Mylne's supervision; southern segment of reservoir demolished 1919-1920. All work until 1902 for the New River Company, patron; C20 work for the Metropolitan Water Board, patron. Multi-coloured stock brick inner face set in English bond with Yorkshire stone slab sloping floor; outer face lined with cast iron plates. Three stone plaques to western face of outer revetment commemorate the building of the reservoir. The New River arrived at Finsbury in 1613 where there was already a pond known as Duck Pond. This was wharfed with oak boards for the reception of the New River Water, and surrounded by a brick wall built by Stephen Bone a bricklayer much in evidence during the early years of the company's existence. In 1841 repairs to the Inner Pond were urgent. W C Mylne, surveyor to the New River Company, inserted fender piles making it unnecessary to empty the centre pond. He then secured new iron piles all around the circumference and inserted iron wharfing. In 1854 George Mansfield built a retaining wall of smaller dimensions to support the slopes and levelled and lined the bottom of the pond with York paving stone. The C20 demolition of the southern segment of the pond wall was due to the erection of the new headquarters building for the Metropolitan Board of Works on the site. (Historians File, English Heritage, London Division: 1990-).

Listing NGR: TQ3133282758