Old Water Tower is a Grade II listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 16 May 1991. Water tower. 4 related planning applications.

Old Water Tower

WRENN ID
mired-step-cobweb
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
East Suffolk
Constituency
Suffolk Coastal MP: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
16 May 1991
Type
Water tower
Address
Old Water Tower, Southwold, IP18 6TB
OS grid reference
TM 502 762
Coordinates
52.32733, 1.67054
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Old Water Tower in Southwold was built in 1886 for the Southwold Water Company. It is constructed from gault brick with red brick dressings and limestone lintels, and features a water tank made of riveted steel.

The tower stands five stories high and has a noticeable taper at the base, which supports the cylindrical water tank. The front and rear of the tower have 20th-century replacement doors. Each upper stage has narrow one- and two-light windows with replacement casements, located at the cardinal points. All window and door openings feature chamfered lintels. At the top of the tower, there is a soldier brick band with bullnose mouldings, and a walkway with horizontal railings encircles the base of the tank.

Inside, the walls are lined with vertical plank boarding.

Local climate

Old Water Tower receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 62% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 6 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 4 applications
  • 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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