Water Tower, Hunt’s Park, (off Killaughey Road), Donaghadee, Co. Down

A large reinforced concrete water tower, dating from approximately 1912, stands on a slight rise within a park on the southwestern outskirts of Donaghadee. The tower’s significance lies in being an early example of reinforced concrete construction. It now serves as a prominent landmark within a frequently used park.

The tower is a tall, cylindrical structure topped with a large water tank, built using mesh reinforced concrete. The tower itself is roughly 16 meters high and 7 meters in diameter, surmounted by a tank measuring approximately 4 meters in height and 7.5 meters across. The base of the tower is slightly angled (battered) and features semicircular arch recesses, one of which contains a doorway with a metal door. There are also two semicircular arched window openings on the north side of the tower, one directly above the other. A decorative frieze, or skirt, with open-based arched recesses runs around the top of the tower, just below the tank. The tank is topped with a simple parapet, base, and conical roof.

Constructed around 1912 by Donaghadee Urban District Council, the tower provided the town with its first mains water supply and remained in service until the 1940s when it was replaced by Orlock reservoir. The water tank has a capacity of 30,000 gallons. Though structurally intact, the tower is currently unused and visually unremarkable. It is of industrial archaeological interest.