Water Chute, Northstead Manor Gardens

The water chute, built in 1932, was designed and installed by Charles Wicksteed's engineering company. It is situated within the Northstead Manor Gardens, adjacent to a boating lake.

The structure is a simple two-storey building, rectangular in plan, with its long axis running north to south. A chute extends from the north side, projecting over a miniature railway line and into the lake. The building has a concrete base, with brick walls covered in timber cladding. It has pitched roofs covered in concrete tiles, supported by steel frames. A six-bar timber safety balustrade surrounds a launch platform, which is open to the eaves. Access to and from the launch platform is via an external staircase on the rear (south) elevation, consisting of separate flights for entry and exit. The chute itself comprises two steel rails on which the boat runs, supported by steelwork and concrete stanchions. The area in the lake where the boat lands is constructed of timber laid partially submerged. A timber door on the west side provides access to the lower floor.

The single-cell ground floor has walls of buttressed machine-made brick, with a concrete ceiling and floor. A raised steel-framed housing at the south end of the room contains the gearing system and motor for the rope winch, enclosed by mesh safety barriers. The motor was originally mounted upside down from the ceiling, and the fixtures remain visible, although it is now mounted correctly. The upper storey, the launch platform, is largely open, with a concrete floor surrounding a central rail pit where passengers step down into the boat. A timber-clad area at the south end, accessed by a gate, houses the winch mechanism and rope reel within a metal cage. Passengers enter by climbing the western staircase, then proceed through the balustraded launch area to be seated in a boat before experiencing the slide down the chute onto the lake surface. The boat is winched back up and released for a repeat, after which passengers exit down the eastern staircase. The flat-bottomed boat is a modern replica of the original design.