Water Tower at Turris Heah, Mill Lane
WATER TOWER AT TURRIS HEAH, MILL LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1394600
- Date first listed:
- 15-Oct-2010
- List Entry Name:
- Water Tower at Turris Heah, Mill Lane
- Statutory Address:
- WATER TOWER AT TURRIS HEAH, MILL LANE
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1394600
- Date first listed:
- 15-Oct-2010
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 01-Sept-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Water Tower at Turris Heah, Mill Lane
- Location Description:
- Water Tower at Turris Heah, Mill Lane
- Statutory Address 1:
- WATER TOWER AT TURRIS HEAH, MILL LANE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
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.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
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.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- WATER TOWER AT TURRIS HEAH, MILL LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- St. Helens (Metropolitan Authority)
- Parish:
- Rainhill
- National Grid Reference:
- SJ 49300 90563
Summary
Water tower, c1870, built by Thomas Melling, red sandstone with ashlar dressings, flat cast-iron roof, 2-storeys with Italianate detailing.
Reasons for Designation
The water tower at Turris Heah, constructed in c1870 by Thomas Melling, a local entrepreneur, to provide water for the small township of Rainhill, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural quality: It is a good and increasingly rare example of a relatively early, non-municipal water tower with a well-detailed design incorporating clear architectural treatment, including Italianate round-headed windows and door with relief ashlar surrounds
* Historic interest: It has socio-historic interest in representing the development of settlements such as Rainhill from a village to a small township following the arrival of the railway in the mid C19 and the need for a clean public water supply for the increasing population
History
The water tower at Turris Heah is believed to have been constructed in c1870 after the land on which it is built was purchased by Thomas Melling, owner of an iron foundry and the Rainhill Gas and Water Works. The land was purchased from the Owen family of the Lawton estate who in 1866 granted Melling permission to lay pipes on the estate and to acquire a piece of land for the erection of a high level water tank to supply the local population of the township. The site was chosen as it was the highest point in the area and the stone for the building is believed to have been taken from a small quarry lying immediately adjacent to the north-east side.
The water tower (not annotated) appears on the 1st edition OS map published in 1892 and subsequent maps and its footprint remains unchanged. In 1926 the water tower was sold to Whiston Rural District Council and was sold again on the same day to Liverpool Corporation. It is not known when the tower ceased active use as a water supply.
Details
EXTERIOR: Square structure with ashlar quoining and shallow parapet, water tank and top section of tower removed. Main entrance to north-west elevation with wide, round-headed doorway with central keystone and imposts that continue as raised band around the building, timber door. Remaining ground floor elevations with slender, paired round-headed windows with relief ashlar surrounds incorporating keystones and imposts, plain glazing. Taller, tripartite round-headed windows in same style to first floor of each elevation with blind centre lights with a raised head, corbelled sill band to each set of windows.
INTERIOR: The interior is empty with ladder access to first floor and roof.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 509209
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Barton, B, Water Towers of Britain, (2003)
Dickinson, F, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire Volume 121 in The Mellings of Rainhill 1830-70, (1970)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 02-Jul-2026 at 07:45:33.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.