Description

BENGEO RURAL

1197/0/10016 TEMPLE LANE
15-MAY-07 Water Tower

II
50,000-gallon water tower. 1964, designed by Edmund C Percey of architectural practice Scherrer and Hicks. Reinforced concrete.
PLAN: Circular water tank supported on a central circular column surrounded by eight curved piers rising to meet eight panels clasping the water tank. Profile: vertical base with cone above widening to top.
EXTERIOR: Eight free-standing curved piers rise around a central column to a height of approximately 4.5m where they are linked by a slightly recessed reinforcing ring. Above this height eight separated segmental panels rise and widen to clasp the slope-sided water tank. A second recessed reinforcing ring ties the panels together at the midpoint between the lower reinforcing ring and the bottom of the tank. The panels project above the top of the tank, each adjoining panel linked by two horizontal metal bars. The surface of the water tank is of a darker finish than the concrete piers and panels. Doorway, with solid timber door and overlight, at ground level of the central column. A concrete-slab path edged with a raised kerb leads to the doorway, and a raised circular concrete kerb runs round the outside of the piers, enclosing a ground covering of stone chippings.
HISTORY: The architect states that the structure was built in-situ using fairface concrete from plywood shuttering.

SOURCES: M R G Trueman, Thematic List Review Report: Water Towers (September 2000), 63. M H Gould and D J Cleland, `Development of Design Form of Reinforced Concrete Water Towers', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Structures & Buildings. Institution of Civil Engineers Vol 146 Issue 1 (2001), 3-16.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE
This is a concrete water tower built in 1964. The inverted cone-shaped structure is designed by Edmund C Percey of the architectural practice Scherrer and Hicks. It has a clean, modern, and distinctive appearance, with careful attention paid to breaking up the massing of such a dominant feature within the setting of a small village. The water tower possesses a sculptural quality which elevates it above a purely functional design and gives it special interest in a national context.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671299

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)