The new centre for illustration is set to open in 2026

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CELEBRITY illustrators were among the on­lookers as works began on the new Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell on Tuesday.

The New River Head heritage site, off Rosebery Avenue, supplied Londoners with clean water from the early 1600s and will now be converted into the world’s largest centre for illustration, set to open in 2026.

Axel Scheffler, the artist behind The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, was on site this week as the develop­ment officially kicked off.

He said that the centre would be a “unique place in Europe to celebrate illustration, which is an art form that has a great presence in our lives and is often overlooked”.

£12.5million has been raised so far to restore and convert the old listed features at New River Head – which include an engine house, windmill base and cobbled courtyard – into galleries, a cafe and new public gardens.

A public appeal is also under way to raise £300,000 by the end of this year, to get the project over the line.

Sir Quentin Blake, who is best known for his long-time collaboration with author Roald Dahl, said that the Clerkenwell space “could not be more appropriate if we’d designed it specially”.

He added: “One day soon it will show some of my archive of several thousand original drawings but, much more importantly, it will be an international centre for the display, discussion and celebration of the extraordinary wealth of illustration.”