Thomas Keyse

Artist and founder of Bermondsey Spa

In the 18th century it was fashionable for wealthy people to take the waters at Spa towns like Bath, Buxton or Leamington. It was believed that drinking the spa waters, with their mineral salts, was beneficial to health and spa towns flourished. By then, Bermondsey was already established as popular destination for day-trippers escaping the crowded City of London.

In 1770 Thomas Keyse, discovered a natural spring in the grounds of his tea gardens in what is now Spa Road and began promoting Bermondsey as a place to take the waters. The discovery made Bermondsey fashionable for a while. Some of the area’s most historic houses in Jamaica Road, Bermondsey Square and Grange Road were built at the time and their residents may have enjoyed the delights of the spa themselves.

A still life painter himself, Keyse opened an art gallery at the spa, which was visited by the great artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the evenings the musical concerts and grand fireworks displays were held. For a while the spa made Bermonsdey the place to be, however, its boom was short lived and the spa closed in 1804.

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