Listed Building: The Water Tower (13/20)

Water tower. Dated 1865. Supervising Architect Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt. Part of the improvements carried out at Castle Ashby by the 3rd Marquis of Northampton. Coursed limestone rubble with limestone dressings, concrete and lead roofs. Square tower with octagonal stair turret to south-west angle, which has an extra stage. Approximately 75 feet to top of turret. Bottom stage has a batter and tall archway leading from courtyard on west side of Castle Ashby, to a formal walk at west end of terrace gardens, leading down to the park. Round-headed arch with tall keyblock and imposts, supported by console brackets. Narrow door to stair-turret to left of archway with segmental-arched head. 3rd stage has a belvedere room with pairs of round-arched windows to each side and stone balconies below supported by moulded stone brackets. Windows are divided by a shaft and have plate-glass sashes. Pieced balustrade to balconies. Top stage containing tanks has corbel table and large keyed roundels to each side in square moulded stone surrounds, containing pierced stone monogram of Charles 3rd Marquis of Northampton and his wife Theodosia. Pierced parapet to turret and lettered parapet to lower with date 1865 to courtyard side and family motto NISI DOMINUS to other sides. A single-storey link joins tower to single-storey wings flanking court to west side of Castle Ashby (q.v.). The tallest building of the Castle Ashby complex and something of a landmark. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p144)

Record last edited

Aug 13 2021 11:22AM