Open House Festival

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration - New River Head

art in the public realm, gallery, infrastructure/engineering, walk/tour, event, open site, industrial

John Smeaton, 1768

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, Rear of 28 Amwell Street

An industrial heritage site that was the hub of one of London’s first major pieces of urban infrastructure. Its 18th and 19th century buildings will be restored by Tim Ronalds Architects to create the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration.

Getting there

Tube

King's Cross St. Pancras, Farringdon, Angel

Train

King's Cross, Farringdon

Bus

19, 30, 73, 205, 214, 394, 476

Additional travel info

Bike racks are available near the entrance We have one parking space on site for disabled visitors, please contact us to make a booking access@qbcentre.org.uk If you have any queries about access please contact us access@qbcentre.org.uk

Access

Facilities

Accessibility notes

New River Head is a derelict site. All open spaces are on ground floor level without steps, however there is uneven ground throughout the site. Trip hazards will be clearly signposted and/or cordoned off. Due to the condition of the site, all young people under the age of fourteen must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.

About

Who are we?

Illustrator Quentin Blake founded our organisation in 2002 to make space for people to create illustration and explore how it impacts our lives. His vision remains our inspiration. Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration is the new name for House of Illustration, the UK’s only charity for illustration – the art that we experience in our everyday. We celebrate illustration in all its forms, support illustrators and empower people of all ages to tell their stories.

What are we doing?

We are working to create a permanent centre for illustration at a heritage site called New River Head in Clerkenwell, London. It will be called Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration and will have exhibition galleries, a learning studio, public gardens, a shop and café. While we’re working on this, we’re connecting people with illustration with our touring exhibitions across the UK, residencies, online events and collaborations with schools and the local community.

What is New River Head?

Wandering around the heart of Clerkenwell in central London, you may well glimpse an intriguing complex of buildings hiding in plain sight between Roseberry Avenue and Amwell Street.

This is New River Head, the future site of Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (opening 2025) and a place with a history of engineering innovation dating from the 17th century; a time when London’s rapidly growing population called for a new approach to the supply of water.

From 1609-1613 the New River was made; an aqueduct cut by 200 labourers to enable fresh water from springs in Hertfordshire to flow to a reservoir at New River Head. From there it was distributed to paying customers in the City in overground wooden pipes.

As demand for water in west London grew at the beginning of the 18th century, pumping technology was needed to increase the pressure of the water and enable it to travel beyond the City. The buildings that exist at New River Head today were built to house these changing technologies.

Access

New River Head is a derelict site. All open spaces are on ground floor level without steps, however there is uneven ground throughout the site. Trip hazards will be clearly signposted and/or cordoned off.

Due to the condition of the site, all young people under the age of fourteen must be supervised by a responsible adult at all times.

Please note

Self-led tours are of the windmill base and external spaces only. It will not be possible to go inside the Engine House, Engine Room or Coal

This site has uneven and slippery surfaces. We recommend wearing sturdy closed toed shoes with a good grip and dressing appropriately for the weather.

Anyone feeling unwell and showing symptoms such as a high temperature, continuous cough, loss of taste or smell is asked not to attend site.

Online presence

www.qbcentre.org.uk

www.instagram.com/qbcentre

twitter.com/qbcentre

Nearby

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