The Water Tower is a building in Kenilworth

Kenilworth

Kenilworth is a town in central Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 22,582 . It is situated south of Coventry, north of Warwick and northwest of London....

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In the mid 20th century it was nicknamed 'Kenilworth Lighthouse', though the name has now fallen out of usage. Made of brick, it is 90 feet (27.4 m) tall and was built by Joseph Lee and John Lamb a haberdasher

Haberdasher

A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...

 from Warwick

Warwick

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...

 in the mid-18th century, and for the next 76 years was a windmill

Windmill

A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...

 used to grind the corn for the townsfolk. With the windmill machinery on top now redundant, the tower was adapted to allow an iron water tank of 26,000 gallons to be added. It was Kenilworth's primary water source until 1939, and was used as an auxiliary source until 1964. From the early water storage period time, the only extant photographs display signs advertising Singers Cycles of nearby Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

 on the tank. By 1960 the Water Tower was out of use, and it was decided to sell it off as a private residence.The conversion work began in 1972 and took two years. The work, undertaken by architect Edward Byron, won an award from the United Kingdom Council for European Architectural Heritage.

From the upper floors there are views over the town of Kenilworth and its castle and the tower stands within a few hundred yards of the field known as Parliament Piece where it is reputed Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...

 held the first English Parliament in 1264.

A notable tale involving the windmill from the early 19th century is of a brave local, one Jerry O'Hea who showed his fortitude by grabbing a hold of one of the windmill sails. Unfortunately his arm got caught and he was carried round and round until the miller applied the brake.

Previous residents include businessman Stephen Drucker known chiefly for his role in running the Druckers Vienna Patisserie

Druckers Vienna Patisserie

Drucker's Vienna Patisserie is a chain of pâtisseries in Great Britain. It was founded by Andre Drucker in 1964, for the purpose of introducing the people of his adopted city of Birmingham to the pâtisseries he had known when he was a young man in Vienna....

chain.