Description

The central garden at Claremont Close is an oval space that acts as a focus for the surrounding eight blocks of flats erected in 1935/6, the last 'square' to be built by the New River Company. The site had previously served as cattle layers for beasts en route to Smithfield Market, and by the 1840s there were livery stables and service buildings here. When the flats were built in 1935 two houses were removed in order to provide better access.

Practical Information

Site location Claremont Square
Postcode N1
What3Words ///club.digs.call
Type of Site Housing/Estate Landscaping
Borough Islington
Open to Public No
Opening Times private, front garden area visible
Public Transport Tube: Angel (Northern). Bus: 30, 73, 214
Research Updated 1 April 2004
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

Claremont Close is off Claremont Square (q.v.), on land owned by the New River Company. In 1841 it was listed as Claremont Mews with livery stables and service buildings and by 1848 the mews was occupied by cab proprietors, a coach builder and similar trades. It is first described as Claremont Close on Pinks' map of 1865, and the entry was a narrow covered way between 32 Claremont Square and 1 Mylne Street. When the flats were built in 1935 these two houses were removed in order to provide better access. The central garden area onto which the housing faces is reached through a gateway with piers that have plaques for the New River Company and also recording that the Close was restored in 1946 following bomb damage. The ornamental garden has a small central stone fountain, rose beds and paths. Behind the flats are two areas not publicly accessible that are of interest for the diversity of the wild flowers here.

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ312830
Size in hectares 0.3
Site Ownership private
Site Management private
Dates 1935/6
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 Islington
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 Local/strategic view corridor

Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.

Nearby parks and gardens

  • Islington
  • 0.1 miles away

Myddelton Square Public Garden

Myddelton Square is considered the chief adornment of the New River Estate and is named after Sir Hugh Myddelton who was responsible for building the New River to provide fresh water to London's growing population in the early C17th. The central garden contains some notable trees particularly on the perimeter, with an ornamental garden of raised beds, and now surrounded by new railings. Railed off within the area of the square is St Mark's Church.
  • Islington
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Claremont Square Reservoir

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.
  • Islington
  • 0.1 miles away

Owen's Field

Owen’s Field is a small park bounded by Owen’s Row and Owen Street, located in Clerkenwell. Originally fields, the land was part of Dame Alice Owen’s School from 1613 to 1976, when the school moved and the site became publicly accessible. The park is on an area that was a school playground, which separated Dame Alice Owen’s Girls’ School and Owen’s Boys’ School before becoming a park when houses were built around. The park has a single footpath that widens in the middle of the park, which is surrounded by grass and bushes. The sculpture ‘Edgerunner’ by artist Paul Neagu is located near the middle of the footpath, with a curving wooden bench separating the footpath from the sculpture.

Owen's Field with Paul Neagu sculpture, 'Edgerunner', April 2024.