Circular Ward And Attached Ablution And Water Tank Tower At Former New End Hospital

This is a circular ward with an attached ablution and water tank tower, built in 1884 as part of the former New End Hospital, designed by Charles Bell. The building was converted into residential use between 1996 and 1998, with John Thomson Associates acting as architects. The construction is of pale yellow/grey brick with pink brick bands and dressings, and features slated roofs; the tower has a pyramidal shape with a finial and bargeboarded lucarnes, while the ward has a conical roof with gabled dormers and a central octagonal brick chimney/ventilation shaft.

The ward tower has a circular plan and stands three storeys high, with an attic and a semi-basement. It incorporates pink brick segmental arches over recessed sash windows, paired in the attic gables. A cantilevered cast-iron “airing gallery” is situated on the upper floors of the south side, accessed via segmental-arched doorways with overlights and part-glazed doors. A parapet tops the structure. The interior of the circular ward, with a diameter of 50 feet (15.2 meters), is functional, with a central octagonal cast-iron arcaded feature linked to the chimney/ventilation shaft.

The water and ablution tower, also three storeys high with an attic and a semi-basement, includes a cast-iron water tank. It has two windows on each elevation, with clasping pilasters and a central pilaster rising the full height of the tower to support pink brick round-arches, each containing an oculus at attic level. Narrow sashes are set within each floor, along with pink brick continuous sill and head bands. The cast-iron water tank rests on a moulded corbelled base, featuring enriched panels and projecting cast-iron brackets on each corbel.

This ward was the first free-standing example of a “ward tower” in the country. The concept for circular wards originated from a paper by John Marshall FRS, Professor of Surgery at University College & Hospital, and was reported in The Builder in 1878. The design aimed to improve air, light and ventilation while minimising the site footprint. The circular ward and water tower constitute a group with the former New End Hospital Workhouse Block, the Boilerhouse chimney, and the Infirmary Block, and hold significant townscape value and serve as a local landmark.