Gawthorpe Water Tower

Gawthorpe Water Tower is a disused water tower built between 1922 and 1928. It is made of reinforced concrete and has a circular plan. The tower is situated on the west side of Chidswell Lane, northeast of a late 19th-century covered reservoir and north of a late 20th-century covered reservoir.

The exterior of the tower consists of four stages. The base is a low, single-storey, drum-shaped structure with a central deeply recessed band. It features a doorway on the north side, which has an eared and shouldered architrave and a modern metal door. The base is topped by modern palisade fencing around the edge, which is not considered of special interest. The second and tallest stage is a circular shaft that rises from the center of the base, surrounded by concentric pillars that are braced to the central shaft and to each other. These pillars support the larger water tank above, which is square in plan and has a simple cornice and kicked-out feet. Arches spring from the uppermost sections where the pillars meet the underside of the tank, creating an arcade-like appearance. Some pillars and horizontal braces have modern cabling and telecommunications equipment attached, which is also not of special interest.

The tank, which has a capacity of 200,000 gallons or nearly 1 million litres, features recessed panelling with a moulded fascia and cornice below, and a plain frieze above. It is topped with an overhanging shallow conical roof, which is surmounted by a tall domed cupola with a ball finial and an arcaded drum.