Water tower on Castle St, Rathfriland, Newry, Co Down, BT34

The water tower, situated on the highest point in Rathfriland on the south side of Castle Street in the townland of Rossconnor, consists of two distinct towers. It is a well-known landmark, visible from a great distance, and is unique within Northern Ireland as the only water tower of its profile and construction amongst the eleven which supply the public. The earlier section is a square concrete tower built over a base. It has a metal door in the north face of the wall and three pipes encased in timber on the north elevation. A two-stage metal ladder leads to the covered top, featuring a single bar metal handrail and a manhole cover. This tower is now disused and was originally fed from Leitrim Reservoir near Hilltown. The later, taller tower is of inverted cone profile, standing approximately 25 metres high. Cast-in-situ reinforced concrete is used throughout, with visible shuttering marks. A metal door is located on the west side, with three small windows above it. This tower, erected in the late 1970s and brought into service in 1982 to replace the earlier tank, holds 158,000 gallons, supplied from Spelga Dam via the Fofanny treatment works; its capacity is 0.718 megalitres. The water tower is of industrial archaeological interest and is owned by Central Government.