Latest news with #NorthEssexHeritage
Time Out
21-04-2025
- Time Out
England's tallest water tower is set to reopen as a tourist attraction after a multimillion-pound revamp
Colchester is quietly one of England's most attraction-packed cities. One of the longest and best preserved Roman town walls in Britain? The Essex city's got that. A medieval castle dating back to the 11th century? Check. A much-loved zoo? Aye, that too. And soon Colchester could be getting a new heritage attraction, as one of the city's historic landmarks is receiving a multimillion-pound makeover. We're talking about Balkerne Water Tower, which is England's largest municipal water tower and better known, appropriately, as 'Jumbo'. Fashioned out of 1.25 million bricks and 142 tonnes of iron, Jumbo was built way back in 1882-3 and in its heyday could hold a whopping 1,140 tonnes of water. While the tower has sat empty and unused since 1984, it still towers 40 metres over Colchester and has been awarded Grade II* listed status. North Essex Heritage is taking on the task of turning Jumbo into a 'destination venue, restaurant, visitor experience and historical interpretation space', and the trust has already taken several steps to achieving its goals. Back in December 2021 North Essex Heritage secured a 150-year lease for Jumbo, and in recent months it has received an impressive amount of funding. In January 2025 it was announced that Jumbo would be one of one of seven historic UK sites to receive a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, boosting it with £8 million. The site is also getting £1.1 million from the government, and in March Historic England said it would provide a further £550,000. For those who haven't done the quick maths, that's the best part of nine and half million quid that has been set aside for Jumbo. Chair of North Essex Heritage Simon Hall told BBC News that the funding 'significantly closes the gap' in paying for Jumbo's restoration, saying: 'It will provide Colchester with a fantastic accessible heritage asset, adding to Colchester's attraction as a city and tourist destination.' Current plans for the structure feature an 'audio-visual experience' in Jumbo's water tank to tell the tower's story, and 360-degree views of Colchester. The project hopes to open the tower to the public in 2027.
BBC News
19-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Jumbo water tower in Colchester receives Historic England funding
England's largest municipal water tower has received extra funding to help secure its 40m (about 130ft) tall structure, known as "Jumbo", has towered above Colchester High Street since 1883 but has been on the at-risk register for the past 30 has already received an £8m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £1.1m from the government amid plans to reopen it as a destination Hall, chair of North Essex Heritage, the site's leaseholders, said a "fantastic, accessible heritage asset" was being created for the city. Historic England announced the latest funding of £550,000 on Wednesday. The Grade II* listed tower was built using about 1.25 million bricks and 142 tonnes (142,000kg) of iron in opened a year later, providing Colchester with reliable, clean water for more than a century until has stood empty since then, suffering what volunteers said was "significant deterioration".Cracks have emerged on its cast iron water tank and roof leaks have led to timber Essex Heritage secured a 150-year lease for the building in December 2021 and outlined plans to reopen it as a heritage and events venue. Mr Hall said the latest funding "significantly closes the gap" in paying for the restoration project, which is expected to take several years to complete."It will provide Colchester with a fantastic accessible heritage asset, adding to Colchester's attraction as a city and tourist destination," he Calladine, from Historic England, added that the revitalised tower would boost the city's economy "for years to come". Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
