The White Conduit House was a building in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London. From the late 17th century, it was a leisure resort away from the city centre; it was demolished in 1849.

History

There were springs and conduit-heads in the area in the medieval period. A conduit house on the site originally supplied water to

Greyfriars Monastery Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate Street, was a church in Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Established as a monastic church in the thirteenth century, it became a parish church af ...

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

. From the 1400s, it also supplied water for a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

priory. It was repaired in 1641 by

Thomas Sutton Thomas Sutton (1532 – 12 December 1611) was an English civil servant and businessman, born in Knaith, Lincolnshire. He is remembered as the founder of the London Charterhouse and of Charterhouse School. Life Sutton was the son of an official ...

, founder of the

London Charterhouse The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Farringdon, London, dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square, and lies within the London Borough of Islington. It was originally built ( ...

on the site of the priory, to which it supplied water until about 1654, when water was taken from the New River."White Conduit"
''London Remembers''. Retrieved 23 April 2022.Walter Thornbury, 'Pentonville', in ''Old and New London: Volume 2'' (London, 1878), pp. 279–289
British History Online. Retrieved 23 April 2022. From the late 17th century, the site was a leisure resort away from the city centre. In 1754, the White Conduit House was advertised as having for its fresh attractions a long walk, a circular fish-pond, a number of pleasant shady arbours, hot loaves and butter, coffee, tea, and other liquors, unadulterated cream, and a handsome long room, with "copious prospects, and airy situation". Cricket was played on a nearby field,

White Conduit Fields White Conduit Fields in Islington was an early venue for cricket and several major matches are known to have been played there in the 18th century. It was the original home of the White Conduit Club, forerunner of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). ...

; a club was formed here, the

White Conduit Club The White Conduit Club (WCC) was a cricket club based on the northern fringes of London that existed from c.1782 until 1788. Although short-lived, it had considerable significance in the history of the game, as its members created the first Lord ...

, that eventually became

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

."White Conduit House"
'The Cloudesley Association''. Retrieved 23 April 2022. The house was rebuilt in 1828, the new building containing a ballroom. By 1833, the area was regarded as less respectable than formerly. The building was demolished in 1849; a pub now stands on the site, at the corner of Barnsbury Road and Dewey Road.

References

{{coord, 51, 32, 05, N, 0, 06, 40, W, region:GB, display=title Tea houses of the United Kingdom Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Islington Buildings and structures demolished in 1849 Demolished buildings and structures in London