WATER TOWER

WATER TOWER, BALSHAM ROAD

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Water tower, 1935-6. Consulting engineers Sands & Walker of Nottingham. Brickwork by H. J. Paintin of Linton, steelwork by R. Watson of Bolton. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1392652
Date first listed:: 16-Jul-2008
List Entry Name:: WATER TOWER
Statutory Address:: WATER TOWER, BALSHAM ROAD

User submitted image — Uploaded by Robert Mason This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1392652
Date first listed:: 16-Jul-2008
List Entry Name:: WATER TOWER
Statutory Address 1:: WATER TOWER, BALSHAM ROAD

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: WATER TOWER, BALSHAM ROAD

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Cambridgeshire
District:: South Cambridgeshire (District Authority)
Parish:: Linton
National Grid Reference:: TL 56770 47943

Reasons for Designation

The water tower on Rivey Hill, Linton is dsignated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Built in 1935-6 as part of the Linton water scheme, it is a striking example of Art Deco design * Unusually for its date, it was constructed in brick rather than concrete, in order to harmonise with the landscape * The dodecagonal brick exterior has a monumental presence, and a sculptural quality enhanced by the twelve tapering buttresses * The impressive buttressed interior contains an open structure of steel girders supporting the water tank * The tower has landmark value due to its prominent and exposed position on Rivey Hill

Details

LINTON

467/0/10008 BALSHAM ROAD 16-JUL-08 RIVEY HILL WATER TOWER

II

Also Known As: WATER TOWER, RIVEY HILL, RIVEY HILL Water tower, 1935-6. Consulting engineers Sands & Walker of Nottingham. Brickwork by H. J. Paintin of Linton, steelwork by R. Watson of Bolton.

MATERIALS: Red brick with concrete dressings. The internal tank and girders are of steel. The roof is grey slate.

PLAN: Dodecagonal (12-sided).

EXTERIOR: Tower constructed of red brick in English bond, with a conical slate roof with 4 gablets and a finial. There are 12 tapering buttresses at the angles of the tower, with closers and concrete offsets. Between the buttresses there are narrow rectangular stepped recesses. At the bottom of the recesses there are tall metal windows on 4 sides, and at the top of the recesses there are small metal windows on all 12 sides. There is a round-arched doorway at ground level on the E side, with a commemorative metal plaque above. The top stage of the tower which conceals the water tank is blank, with a concrete band below and a concrete eaves cornice above. The mobile communications equipment affixed to the upper stages of the tower is not of special interest.

INTERIOR: The cylindrical steel water tank is supported on a 4-stage open structure of steel girders, embedded into 12 internal brick buttresses. There is a concrete floor at the 3rd stage.

HISTORY: In August 1934, South Cambridgeshire Rural District Council approved a scheme to supply mains water to more than 5,000 people in Linton and the surrounding villages. The hill villages of South Cambridgeshire had been suffering from severe water shortages for some time; the only water supply came from wells, most of which were contaminated or privately owned. The Linton water scheme, costing around £42,600, included 34 miles of cast iron pipework; a 60 foot-deep well; a pumping station in Back Road; and the 100 foot-high tower on Rivey Hill, with its 87,500 gallon water tank. The engineers were Sands & Walker of Nottingham. Work began in March 1935 and was completed in June 1936. The steelwork for the tower was supplied by R. Watson of Bolton for £2,030. The brickwork was by the Linton firm of H. J. Paintin and cost £3,788. The provision of fresh water transformed life in the district and enabled the building of a secondary school in Linton in 1937. The Village College still has the water tower as its emblem.

As the population expanded and the demand for water increased in the 1960s and 70s, two reservoirs were built in the grounds near the tower. Two further towers made of reinforced concrete were erected on nearby hills, so that there are now three towers serving the area.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The water tower on Rivey Hill, Linton is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Built in 1935-6 as part of the Linton water scheme, it is a striking example of Art Deco design * Unusually for its date, it was constructed in brick rather than concrete, in order to harmonise with the landscape * The dodecagonal brick exterior has a monumental presence, and a sculptural quality enhanced by the twelve tapering buttresses * The impressive buttressed interior contains an open structure of steel girders supporting the water tank * The tower has landmark value due to its prominent and exposed position on Rivey Hill TL5677047943

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 504112
Legacy System:: LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.