Hart Lane Water Tower

HART LANE 1. 5123 Hart Lane Water Tower TL 12 SW 7/3 II

1. 1. Luton grey bricks with red brick dressings and terra cotta decoration, Stone slates. Octagonal plan, 4 storeys. Conical roof, deep projecting eaves, surmounted by finial. Smaller, similar, demi-tower on west face, reaching up to fourth floor housing staircase: two square headed casement windows in line under one with cambered head. Roof of main tower has 4 gables near apex and 4 gabled dormers set lower down in roof. Decorative terracotta frieze below eaves. Top stage has square recessed panels filled alternately with six-light casement windows with glazing barn, flanked by pilasters and surmounted with keystone, and similar blank arcades. Two moulded bands beneath run around the tower, containing on all except the west face a recessed rectangular panel with guilloche decoration in terracotta. The lower three floors, apart from the west face, are contained within three storey recesses with cambered heads with series of terracotta mouldings including one with foliated decoration. In each recess is a second storey round headed window with glazing bars, with keystone and dripmould above, moulded band and apron below. In alternate recesses there is also a first storey square headed window with glazing bars, with drip mould above and moulded band and apron below. The tower was erected following the drought of 1898 which left Stopsley without water (W Austin, Luton and Its Hamlet, 1928, II p 213).

Listing NGR: TL1005422080