Water Tower at Knaresborough Station

The water tower at Knaresborough Station is a railway station water tank built in 1851 for the York and North Midland Railway, likely manufactured by James Walker of Leeds. It features a rectangular brick base with thicker corner piers that support a cast iron tank, which has three panels on one side and two on the other. The short side of the base includes a plain entrance door, while the long side has an arched window with three by four panes in a cast iron frame and a stone sill. Other elevations are not visible. The interior has not been inspected. This water tower is part of a significant group of railway buildings that includes the nearby Knaresborough station, tunnel, signal box, and viaduct at the opposite end of the platform. Knaresborough station was opened in 1851 when connections to Leeds and York were completed. The Leeds-Thirsk line was constructed by the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, which later became the Leeds Northern Railway. The line to York from the junction just north of the tunnel was built by the East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway, which was taken over by the York and North Midland Railway in 1851 as the Knaresborough connection was being finalized. The line through Knaresborough was operated by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway until 1854, when the North Eastern Railway amalgamated all the constituent companies.