Water Chute at Wicksteed Park

A water chute of 1926, designed and manufactured by Charles Wicksteed.

MATERIALS: yellow brick tower with tiled roof, iron tracks, railings and staircases.

PLAN: a simple two-storey building, rectangular in plan, adjacent to the river, oriented roughly south-west to north-east, with the chute extending into the river to the north-east.

EXTERIOR: a brick, two-storey tower, resembling a signal box. It has a hipped roof with sweeping overhanging eaves and tiled roof covering, in an Arts and Crafts style. There is a stepped string course to the brickwork at upper level, punctuated by shallow brick pilasters, expressing three bays on the front of the building, two of which are open at the upper level, and the third (north) bay has a six-pane metal-framed window. The upper storey is accessed and exited by an external iron staircase to the front and rear elevations (one for up and one for down), the staircases are believed to be Wicksteed's design for stairs to children's slides.

An iron chute protrudes to the south, extending over and eventually into the river, consisting of two channels for the wheels of the "boat" to run in, on iron supports, and with simple tubular iron safety railings.

The ground floor is accessed by two, timber-plank doors on the north end of the building.

INTERIOR: although access to the ground floor was not possible at the time of the site visit, it is understood the timber-plank doors on the ground floor provide access to a single-cell storage area.

The upper storey is largely open, with a 'platform' either side of the central rail pit to allow passengers to enter and exit the 'boat.' The north end of the upper storey contains the electric wheel on which a rope winches the "boat" and passengers up after their plunge into the river. There is a metal cage around the rope winching area. The roof structure is hidden beneath a timber, panelled ceiling.

The passenger enters by climbing the "in" staircase to the east, and entering the semi-open upper floor, from whence they are seated in a "boat" and experience a thrilling slide down the chute, onto the surface of the river below, to be splashed liberally upon hitting the water. The "boat" is then winched up again on a rope so that the passengers can exit from the other side, and down the west staircase.

The flat-bottomed "boat" resembles the original design, but is a modern replica of the original.

The Water Chute is in its original configuration, save for the early change by Wicksteed to its roof design.