Mural located in former Lee Valley Water Company Offices and free-standing sculpture on west side of entrance drive is a Grade II listed building in the Welwyn Hatfield local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 October 2012. Office building, sculpture.
Mural located in former Lee Valley Water Company Offices and free-standing sculpture on west side of entrance drive
- WRENN ID
- hidden-solder-poplar
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield MP: Andrew Lewin (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 23 October 2012
- Type
- Office building, sculpture
- Address
- Mural located in former Lee Valley Water Company Offices and free-standing sculpture on west side of entrance drive, Chantry Lane, Hertfordshire
- OS grid reference
- TL 220 076
- Coordinates
- 51.75439, -0.23328
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The building features a mural located in the former Lee Valley Water Company Offices, along with a free-standing sculpture on the west side of the entrance drive. The materials used for both are mesh reinforced in-situ concrete.
The office building has a large square plan with an open internal courtyard. The mural is positioned in the west range against the north wall of the former entrance hall, while the sculpture is found on the west side of the entrance drive.
The concrete mural is a striking feature of the former entrance hall. It is structural, supported by three concrete columns at the rear, although the left column does not reach the ceiling. The mural measures approximately 5 meters high, 5.5 meters wide, and 0.5 meters deep. It presents a series of vertical panels that evoke the image of water streaming downwards, interspersed with abstract organic forms that resemble fossils. The design is dynamic and textured, featuring sunburst and floral motifs that appear to emerge from the surface, along with pitted areas that mimic raindrops on water. A section inspired by Aztec totemic art, filled with snake-like forms, rises prominently. A notable design element is the triangular section on the right, symbolizing a downward rush of water. Originally, water cascaded over this feature from concealed pipes above, flowing into a wide, shallow channel at the base, which is cut into the marble floor and runs the length of the entrance hall. This channel has since been boarded over.
The small free-standing sculpture on the west side of the entrance drive stands about 1.5 meters high, 0.5 meters wide, and 0.25 meters deep. It shares a similar form and texture with the large mural, characterized by abstract sunburst and fossil-like shapes.
Local climate
Mural located in former Lee Valley Water Company Offices and free-standing sculpture on west side of entrance drive sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 720 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 85% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 81% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 58% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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- 1 Walton Court, formerly Birds Eye Offices, including courtyards, water garden features and front pool
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- 4 Pearl Centre
- 5 Mural at City of London Academy
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