A Victorian water tower that was nearly demolished by the Channel Tunnel rail link will have an occasional open day later this month, and offers wonderful views across the local area.

The water tower was built in 1872 and sat on the eastern side of St Pancras station providing the liquid fuel for steam trains using the station. You can see it in the background of this photo next to the old gas holders, and a closer view here. Although a “mere” water tower, it was still given the sort of attention that Victorian engineers tended to give, and was designed by the office of Sir George Gilbert Scott with elaborate brickwork detailing around the edges of the overhang that supported the water tank.

In 2001, the development of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link terminus meant the Waterpoint was threatened with demolition as it sat right in the middle of the extended platforms. As the building was of such architectural and engineering importance, an agreement was reached to find a way to move it instead.

It didn’t move far, but moving an entire building is no easy task.

The task was made harder by the discovery that the original brick mortar used was so hard that the usual technique of dismantling it brick by brick would have caused too much damage. So they sliced the building in half, horizontally, and moved the whole thing in two large pieces.

There are some photos of the move at the bottom of this page.

The rebuilding of the waterpoint took until 2005, and is now in a private plot of land owned by the St Pancras Cruising Club, but is occasionally open to the public.

Once you’ve found the entrance, which might not be entirely obvious at times, the path up to the water tower becomes easy to spot, and inside there are a number of large display boards telling the history of the water tower. Of course, what you want to do is go upstairs, so up you go – two floors worth to get onto the roof.

And the real prize now are the views.

Thanks to its elevated location and the low lying surroundings, you get really good views across St Pancras, some of King’s Cross and the Regent’s Canal. There are a few bits of railway heritage up here as a legacy of when it was used to store water, but really the main attraction is the views of the local area from a rarely seen vantage point.

The entrance is either — from the Regent’s Canal towpath adjacent to the Gasholders, or, if that door by the lock is closed, cross over the footbridge next to the lock, and you will be able to see the entrance in the yard next to Camley Street Natural Park.

Entry is free, with donations appreciated.

The final open day for 2022 will be on Saturday 15th October from 10am to 4pm.

The cafe in neighbouring Camley Street Natural Park is also rather nice if you fancy a coffee and cake afterwards.

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2 comments
  1. S R says:

    Hi, is there a way to be notified of all of these different ‘open days’ that seem to keep coming up across London ? Is there one body or organisation that sets up these open days ?
    Thanx!

    • ianVisits says:

      You could sign up for this website’s newsletter that reguarly lists events like this. Thanks

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