Everton Water Tower is a
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
situated on Margaret Street in
Everton, Liverpool
Everton is a suburb of north Liverpool, in Merseyside, England, and part of the Liverpool Walton (UK Parliament constituency), Liverpool Walton constituency. It is bordered by Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall to the west, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Kir ...
. Now surrounded by a modern housing estate it is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The water tower is a well-known landmark dating from 1857 and can be seen from most of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
standing at the top of Everton brow.
Structure
Designed by the Liverpool's first water engineer, Thomas Duncan, it is all that is visible of the deep water service reservoir. The masonry hides a cast iron tank above ground level.
The tower consists of 3 stages. The first stage is made up of an arcade of 12 arches in a rusticated style. The second stage also consists of a 12 arch arcade with each arch having an impost band and keystone and a top bracketed cornice. The final stage is recessed and contains the water tank with iron supporting brackets.
History
The building was placed up for sale by owner,
United Utilities
United Utilities Group plc (UU) is the United Kingdom's largest listed water company. It was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB. The group manages the regulated water and waste water network in North West En ...
, in July 2018 as they maintained the structure no longer had any operational use and had not been used for the storage or distribution of water for "many years."
The tower was taken off sale later in the month when it was revealed that United Utilities had been approached by a charity with a proposal for the future use of the site.
Despite the proposals, nothing came of them and in February 2019 the building was auctioned and sold for £70,000. Despite putting in planning permission for building apartments and replacing the roof with a glazed structure, no development work was undertaken and the building was put up for auction again in 2023.
See also
*
Grade II listed buildings in Liverpool-L6
Liverpool is a city and port in Merseyside, England, which contains many listed buildings. A listed building is a structure designated by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (advised by Historic England) of being of ar ...
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline
Everton Water Tower at Night
Towers completed in 1864
Grade II listed buildings in Liverpool
Water towers in the United Kingdom