Water Tower

This is a water tower, constructed in 1894 for the Poole Water Company. It is a red brick structure with purple and white brick dressings, limestone, and terracotta, featuring a cast iron tank and other ironwork. The tower is square in plan, with three stages and two bays on each side.

The base of the tower has a battered plinth with recessed bands of purple brick separated by a limestone roll moulding; a round-headed doorway to the rear provides access. The sides are divided by giant pilaster strips of white brick, featuring large, sunk panels of red brick with round-arched heads. Round arches of white brick connect the pilaster strips and frame three tiers of tall, iron-framed windows with round-arched heads, except for the rear which is windowless. Dentilled brick string courses define the stage levels, and large terracotta paterae are set within the arches joining the pilaster strips. A round-arched corbel frieze surrounds the circular windows. Cast iron brackets support an iron railing and timber-decked walkway around the base of the tank, accessible via an external stair from the rear doorway. The tank itself is circular and features a pattern of seven square panels arranged in three tiers.

The interior is understood to contain a timber stairway for access to the external gantry, and rising and falling mains within a central structural shaft. Originally, the tank and the adjacent ground-level reservoir were open-topped, but by 1907, both had been covered with reinforced concrete. The original reservoir was demolished in 1957 and replaced with a covered, reinforced concrete reservoir. The tower was designed by HFJ Barnes. Its landmark status and quality of materials and craftsmanship, including the use of coloured brick, limestone and terracotta, alongside its classical detailing, contribute to its group value at Grade II.