The Ladywell Water Tower, Lewisham, Greater London
In London, the only new workhouse to be built specifically for the elderly was erected in 1897-1900, at Ladywell, for St Olave's Union. It was designed by the hospital architects Newman & Newman. It could house a total of 812 aged and infirm poor. There was also a laundry, a water tower, an isolation hospital and two chapels. The water tower had a well 120 feet deep from which water was drawn to supply the laundry and local houses. Most of St Olave's Union has since been demolished with the exception of the water tower and the central hospital unit. A modern housing estate has been built on much of the site.
