Above: A terrace of elegant houses standing on the west side of the square.
Claremont Square is situated on the south side of Pentonville Road at its highest point and the northern side of the square is Pentonville Road. Instead of the usual central open space consisting of a park, in this case, the central space is now a large reservoir, covered in grass with railings around it.
The square, which is 909 feet (277 metres) long, is lined on the south, east and west sides by elegant early-19th-century houses. Because the reservoir is raised above street level, it is not possible to look across the square and realise its true extent.
Above: A view of the west side of the reservoir seen from Pentonville Road.
Claremont Square Reservoir was originally the Upper Pond, situated a short distance west of the Round Pond which was originally the London end of the New River. A windmill at the Round Pond pumped water from the Round Pond to the Upper Pond during the years c1709 to 1720. Water was pumped up to the Upper Pond from New River Head.
In 1855, the Upper Pond was drained, deepened and lined with high walls – all covered by grass and planted with tree-lined embankments – to boost water supplies from the New River. Being an unusual feature, the reservoir was listed as Grade II in 2000. It is now in use as part of London’s inner Ring Main, supplying water to London. Thames Water has exclusive access and takes charge of repairs, cutting and planting, assisted by volunteer projects. The street-side railings have a mixed set of pointed finials and form another unusual feature in the square which is also listed. As such, this square is the only one in Inner London to have a reservoir in the centre.
Further details of the rebuilt reservoir are given here. Upper Pond was demolished in 1855 and replaced by a brick structure 127 feet (38.6 metres) above high water in the River Thames, which also delivers water by gravity flow. Some of the original timber supply pipes were found during excavations for the new service reservoir.
The reservoir is about 180 feet (55 metres) square with rounded corners. Inside it is divided into 12 north-south bays separated by partition walls, which support the barrel-vaulted roof. Each partition wall has 10 narrow openings under segmental arches along its length to allow water to circulate. There are also two east-west cross walls with arched openings into each bay. The brick floors in each bay are slightly concave. The structure is about 26 feet (8 metres) deep and contains water up to 21 feet (6.4 metres) deep, with a capacity of 16 million litres.
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