Court Room, New River Company, ca.1886

From: Henry Dixon & Son

RA Collection: Art

"The buildings of the New River Company, at River Head, in Clerkenwell, do not appear to have any great age, but a portion of them was erected so long back as 1613. "The Waterhouse" in the distance, over the heights to the north of London, is a conspicuous title (the house itself too far off to be visible), in Visscher's admirable view of London, taken in 1616, as well as in Hollar's later view. Hollar also engraved two views of it. An inscription on the house gives the date of its erection (1613) and restoration (1782). The Court Room, on the first floor, was decorated as we see it, in 1693, by Mr John Grene, Clerk to the Company, who married a grand-daughter of Sir Hugh Myddleton, the founder of the New River Company. The Royal Arms bear the motto of William III., JE MAINTIENDRAY. The carving is ascribed to Grinling Gibbons, and the character of the work leaves little doubt that tradition is in this instance correct. The ceiling, the border of which only is seen in the photograph, is very rich. In the central compartment is a portrait of William III., in others are the arms of Myddleton and of Grene. (Cromwell's History of Clerkenwell, 1828.)"

The above description, by Alfred Marks, was taken from the letterpress which accompanies the photographs. The Court Room, now the Oak Room, was saved from the Water House and now exists within the office building of the former Metropolitan Water Board (which became private residences in the 1990s) on Rosebery Avenue, near Finsbury Town Hall. According to English Heritage, the carved oak panelling and plaster ceiling of the1690s interior are of the highest quality but the attribution, mentioned by Marks, that the carving was by Grinling Gibbons is not confirmed.