It is somewhat telling that I am no longer surprised by homes that shouldn’t be homes. I suppose it comes with the territory of talking to agents and telling them that I would like to write about ‘some weird stuff’. We all enjoy the idea of a house with history, both in its bricks and owners, but we also enjoy looking at water towers and the like and wondering what it would be like to live in one.
So, to Suffolk, where Savills have a water tower, known as The Water Tower, for sale for £2.75 million. I am from Suffolk, and I have been to Aldeburgh, where the Water Tower is, and I have seen it. But now I get to see inside, and so do you.
Priors Hill Road is probably the nicest street in Aldeburgh, which is itself one of Suffolk’s nicest seaside towns. Not only are you already on a hill, you are also in a water tower, so you truly have the opportunity to lord it over everyone. Or just take in the nice views of the seaside.
The Water Tower was converted into a home in 2017, before which it was a water tower. It offers six bedrooms, four bathrooms and five reception rooms over six floors (eight if you include the terrace and the basement), but thankfully there is a lift.
The ground floor has been extended and enhanced to create a large kitchen/dining room space, a separate sitting room and two bedrooms, meaning you can live entirely on the ground floor, if you so wish. Everything is sleek and modern, combining the building’s Victorian past with contemporary amenities to create a comfortable entertaining and living space.
But where’s the fun in owning a water tower (or, indeed, The Water Tower), if you don’t go up. As you ascend, you will find more bedrooms (thankfully with a bathroom on each floor), as well as a further drawing room (second floor) and studio space (sixth floor).
There’s something quite charming about the modular living provided by a water tower house. Fun, exciting, and well designed, it’s also always pleasing to see old buildings being given a second chance. And, in Aldeburgh, where things can be a bit ‘the same’, it stands out in more ways than one.
