Ingleby Arncliffe Water Tower

Ingleby Arncliffe Water Tower is Grade II Listed and was built in 1915 after concerns there could be a water shortage as a consequence of events in World War I. Sir Hugh Bell, who was the Mayor of Middlesbrough at the time, hired the York architect Walter Henry Brierley to build a water tower. There was ultimately never any water shortage.

The Ingleby Arncliffe Water Tower is three-stories and made of sandstone. It has castellations at the top and four gargoyles at the eaves. In addition, an inscription above the door reads:

PERSEVERANTIA

SIR HUGH BELL BUILT THIS TOWER AS PART OF A WATER SUPPLY TO ARNCLIFFE AND ROUNTON. AD. 1915.

The phrase 'Perseverantia' is as exactly as it sounds and means persistence, steadfastness or constancy in Latin.

The water tower today still remains in use providing water for one farmstead and livestock. The tower is fed by a nearby natural spring in the Cleveland Hills and is less than a mile away.

In front of the water tower there are coloured rocks, although grass now protrudes through you can clearly make out 'HB FB 1915'. A reference to Sir Hugh Bell and his wife Florence, Lady Bell.

The Bell family were a highly regarded family in Teesside and ran a Steelworks in Middlesbrough and Ironworks at Walker in Newcastle. Sir Hugh Bell was mayor of Middlesbrough three times. One interesting fact about Sir Hugh Bell is that as he was director of the North Eastern Railway. He had a private platform on the line between Middlesbrough and Redcar which was situated at the bottom of the garden of his house, Red Barns! Why wait for the train with everyone else, eh?

Walter Brierley was a famous architect in the North of England and between 1885 and the time of his death in 1926 he was responsible for over 300 buildings (including Ingleby Arncliffe Water Tower)! Readers may have seen some of Brierley's work on the television several times without realising. Brierley was responsible for many of the houses and other buildings (including the church of St Mary and the Village Hall) in Goathland and lots of these appear in the opening credits of Heartbeat!

Other famous buildings by Walter Brierley include the beautiful nearby County Hall in Northallerton, Goddards House and Garden (now a National Trust property) and Scarcroft Primary School which was described as a 'masterpiece' by English Heritage.

On certain days of the year the water tower is opened up. If you strike lucky then kept in the tower is a Victorian Fire Engine and an extremely old bier which is a barrow used to carry a coffin which you'll be able to see!

This unusual water tower is certainly a point of interest in Ingleby Arncliffe and is a hidden piece of heritage in Teesside.