A Tower Worth Taking

A Tower Worth Taking
Formerly a rundown perch for the local pigeons, this 130-foot water tower is now a sleek contemporary home with a bird's eye view of the capital.

There's no missing the Water Tower on Shooter's Hill in Greenwich.

As you drive up the busy south London thoroughfare it soars above the surrounding streets, alert, upright and unmistakably Victorian.

In its prime, it stood proudly in the grounds of the Brook Hospital (1891), its broad shoulders supporting an 80 ton cast-iron water tank; from its commanding height it generated a mighty head of pressure and was capable of serving the entire 29-acre medical facility.

The hospital was closed down in the 1990s and a few years ago Fairview Homes were given the contract to demolish many of the original buildings and develop the site.

The Tower, however, survived and was snapped up by the architect Michael Loates-Taylor, who could see the potential for a romantic and unconventional conversion with unrivalled views over the capital. How right he was.

Loates-Taylor teamed up with the innovative developer Chickenfeed to transform the building into a beautifully finished bespoke home that combines the Gothic drama of the tower with a cool new two-storey steel and glass pavilion.

There's a bold contrast here and an interesting dialogue between the two structures: old meets