Water Softening Plant

Water Softening Plant, 28 Faversham Road, Newnham

This water softening plant, built in the 1930s, is a sludge blanket clarifier constructed of reinforced concrete. It consists of two conical tanks placed either side of an ellipse-shaped central tower, with a rectangular annexe and workshop immediately to the north east.

EXTERIOR

Each conical tank measures 12.5 metres in diameter at the top and stands nearly 9 metres high. The central tower rises just over 13.5 metres. Both tanks are hopper-bottom sedimentation tanks that taper towards the bottom and are supported halfway up by a collar resting on concrete uprights. Small circular turrets sit on the roofs of the tanks, each fitted with three windows and a door. These doors face a corresponding door in the side of the central tower, providing roof access. A large semi-circular hole has been knocked into the roof of the south tank in recent times, and a small opening has been cut into the side of the north tank.

The central tower features metal windows to front and rear, with larger windows to the sides. The windows set in the curved ends are arranged in threes. Those at the very top and bottom occupy their original openings, whilst the central three were added in 2006. The bottom windows appear as eight-light sashes but open inwards from the top half. All windows in the central tower were replaced with custom-built copies in 2006. The workshop annexe has a door in the side facing the tanks and three large windows to its front, with similar windows on both sides.

INTERIOR

The central tower contains a central area open to a ceiling three levels above, flanked by circular towers at either end with wide flat arched openings. These towers probably originally contained cylindrical water tanks. Ground floor access is provided by wide, square, open arches on both sides overlooking the sedimentation tanks. A cast iron stair with handrail, positioned against the inside south wall, provides access to the upper floors and to an unlit middle floor within the eastern circular tower. The stair then takes a right-angled turn to reach the second floor. Although all machinery has been removed, various cast iron fittings set into the concrete mark where equipment once stood. The upper floor forms a spacious room occupying the entire level and is well lit by large metal-framed windows. Access to the roofs of both sedimentation tanks is available from the level below. Trenches in the tank roofs continue beneath the floor at this level, originally containing pipes, some of which remain in place. These trenches are still partially covered by original cast-iron covers.

HISTORY

The water softening plant forms part of a water treatment site constructed for Mid Kent Water in the 1930s. The wider site includes a pumphouse dating to 1937 and a pair of semi-detached houses, both still occupied and not included in this listing. The water softening plant appears to have been experimental in nature. It was abandoned during the Second World War, only a decade after construction, though it reopened in 1946. It soon closed again due partly to high operational costs. The building was sold in 2002, and discussions ensued about its conversion to domestic use.

SIGNIFICANCE

This is an unusual and apparently unique structure in Kent, and probably in England as a whole, as no similar structures have been identified. Because its operational life was short and it remained abandoned and unused for over half a century, it survives substantially intact. It is of historic interest as a record of an experiment in water processing technology, and possesses special architectural and aesthetic interest as a piece of outstanding industrial design with powerful sculptural qualities.