Proposed Site 1

Tower Hill Water Tower

Situated in Ormskirk on Tower Hill road.

The tower is built in the Romanesque Revival style, constructed of coursed, squared sandstone, and arranged in a square plan. On each side are two narrow full-height Romanesque arches, all with stepped surrounds and arch-bands, and linked by an impost band. Above the arches is a plain frieze with carved grotesques at the corners, topped with machicolated corbelling.

Coursed squared sandstone, slate roof (dilapidated).
Square plan. Romanesque style. Tall tower with 2 narrow
full-height Romanesque arches in each side, all with stepped
surrounds and arch-bands, linked by an impost band carried
round; plain frieze with carved grotesques at the corners, and
very emphatic corbelling in machicolated form, surmounted by a
large tank enclosed by what appears to be ashlar walling.

In its present state, the tower stands at a height of approximately 17 metres (56 ft). Originally, the stonework was surmounted by a metal water tank with a pitched slate-covered roof, which added an extra 6.2 metres (20 ft) to the height of the structure. Due to its poor condition, the tank was removed in the early 1990s



Planning permission was granted in 1988 for the conversion of the tower into a single dwelling, though the scheme was never implemented. Subsequent applications to convert the tower into offices or an apartment block were either refused or withdrawn. A more recent application for conversion into seven apartments was made in 2004, though this has also been rejected, and an appeal against the decision was dismissed in April 2008.

Development of the site has met with opposition from local residents, and local Conservative councillor Adrian Owens was amongst critics of the most recent application.