Water Tower
WATER TOWER, TEMPLE LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1391971
- Date first listed:
- 15-May-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Water Tower
- Statutory Address:
- WATER TOWER, TEMPLE LANE
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1391971
- Date first listed:
- 15-May-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Water Tower
- Statutory Address 1:
- WATER TOWER, TEMPLE LANE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- WATER TOWER, TEMPLE LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hertfordshire
- District:
- East Hertfordshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Bengeo Rural
- National Grid Reference:
- TL 33510 17368
Details
BENGEO RURAL
1197/0/10016 TEMPLE LANE 15-MAY-07 Water Tower
II 50,000-gallon water tower. 1964, designed by Edmund C Percey of architectural practice Scherrer and Hicks. Reinforced concrete. PLAN: Circular water tank supported on a central circular column surrounded by eight curved piers rising to meet eight panels clasping the water tank. Profile: vertical base with cone above widening to top. EXTERIOR: Eight free-standing curved piers rise around a central column to a height of approximately 4.5m where they are linked by a slightly recessed reinforcing ring. Above this height eight separated segmental panels rise and widen to clasp the slope-sided water tank. A second recessed reinforcing ring ties the panels together at the midpoint between the lower reinforcing ring and the bottom of the tank. The panels project above the top of the tank, each adjoining panel linked by two horizontal metal bars. The surface of the water tank is of a darker finish than the concrete piers and panels. Doorway, with solid timber door and overlight, at ground level of the central column. A concrete-slab path edged with a raised kerb leads to the doorway, and a raised circular concrete kerb runs round the outside of the piers, enclosing a ground covering of stone chippings. HISTORY: The architect states that the structure was built in-situ using fairface concrete from plywood shuttering.
SOURCES: M R G Trueman, Thematic List Review Report: Water Towers (September 2000), 63. M H Gould and D J Cleland, `Development of Design Form of Reinforced Concrete Water Towers', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Structures & Buildings. Institution of Civil Engineers Vol 146 Issue 1 (2001), 3-16.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE This is a concrete water tower built in 1964. The inverted cone-shaped structure is designed by Edmund C Percey of the architectural practice Scherrer and Hicks. It has a clean, modern, and distinctive appearance, with careful attention paid to breaking up the massing of such a dominant feature within the setting of a small village. The water tower possesses a sculptural quality which elevates it above a purely functional design and gives it special interest in a national context.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 494287
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 12:21:33.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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