I love how London’s street names they can give you little clues and hints to the history of an area.
Next to Moorfields Eye Hospital you can find a rather unusually named road: Peerless Street. It has a fascinating and surprising story behind it.
Peerless Street can be found here:
The ‘Perilous Pond’
If we go back a few hundred years to the 17th century, there would have been a spring at this spot that formed a pond at the surface. It was a popular spot for bathers in the area as well as for fishing and duck hunting.
It gained, however, a rather unfortunate nickname; the ‘Perilous Pond’, due to the number of fatal accidents and drownings that took place there.
In 1743, the pond was purchased by a jeweller by the name of William Kemp who converted it into a luxury swimming bath and an adjacent fish pond.
The ‘Peerless Pool’
To shake off its old associations it went through a bit of a rebranding process and the Perilous Pond became the ‘Peerless Pool’.
It is said to be London’s first outdoor public swimming pool and measuring at 107 x 108ft and 3.5-5ft deep, it was the largest in England at the time.
There was a marble changing ‘vestibule’ and trees or a fence around the edge shielded it from prying onlookers.
The price was £1 and 10 shillings for a membership or 1 shilling per use, relatively expensive for the time.
Various other attractions were added from the 1790s, including a small library and bowling green. The pool would also be used as an ice rink in the winter.
The path alongside was known as Peerless Row and later became Peerless Street.
Into the 19th Century
In 1805 the site was purchased by a Joseph Watts who constructed Baldwin Street over the fish pond.
There is a great quote from William Hone, a satirist, who visited the pool in 1826:
“Trees enough remain to shade the visitor from the heat of the sun on the brink. On a summer evening it is amusing to survey the conduct of the bathers; some boldly dive, others timorous stand and then descend step by step, unwilling and slow; choice swimmers attract attention by divings and somersets, and the whole sheet of water sometimes rings with merriment. Every fine Thursday and Saturday afternoon in the summer columns of Bluecoat boys, more than a score in each, headed by their respective beadles, arrive and some half strip themselves ‘ere they reach their destination. The rapid plunges they make into the Pool and their hilarity in the bath testify their enjoyment of the tepid fluid.”
I have written previously about the fascinating history of the charitable Bluecoat Schools here.
The pool was closed finally in 1850 and the area built over. Moorfields Eye Hospital, for example, was constructed here in 1899.
There are a couple of other clues in the area to look out for that hint to the area’s history, including the nearby ‘Bath Street’ and the ‘Old Fountain Pub’.
Thank you for reading, more London history below!
Through The Keyhole: A Look Inside 13 Princelet Street
The tight grid and tangle of streets in Spitalfields are some of the best preserved…
Thomas Cromwell And The Curious History Of Austin Friars
Austin Friars is a street in London, just to the North East of the Bank…
Five London Streets Named After Inspirational People
A few of the major streets in London are named after people: Downing Street (Sir…
The Curious History Of Steelyard Passage And The Hanseatic League
Walking along the Thames Path in the City of London involves many twists and turns….
Amazing! I love history and its fun to see how a place has changed over the centuries. London is a wonderful city and your blog is inspiring me to make more frequent trips down to explore.
I lived in peerless building’s until I was 16.Inever knew my grandparents as they were killed in the war when 3 blocks were destroyed.We played on the bombsite all the time. I went to St Luke’s school in Old St.I now live in Cornwall . I have just had Pie and mash from Manzies delivered here in Cornwall, yum, bring back old memories.