York Buildings Water Tower

York Buildings Water Tower
Engraving of York Buildings and the Water Tower, c. 1780, by Isaac Taylor
General information
Status	Demolished
Type	Water tower
Architectural style	Octagonal
Address	Villiers Street
Town or city	London
Country	UK
Coordinates	51°30′28″N 0°07′23″W / 51.507904°N 0.123049°WCoordinates: 51°30′28″N 0°07′23″W / 51.507904°N 0.123049°W
Completed	Late 17th century
Height	70 feet (21 m)
Technical details
Material	Wood

The York Buildings Waterworks' Water Tower was a water tower on the north bank of the River Thames and a dominant feature of the 18th century London skyline.

The water tower was a wooden structure, 70 feet high^[1] (21 metres) and with an octagonal cross-section. It was erected in the late 17th century on a site at the end of Villiers Street, by the York Watergate, now part of the Victoria Embankment Gardens. The Survey of London includes a drawing (plate 31^[2] in volume 18^[3]) showing the building.

The prominent position and height of the water tower meant it appeared in many paintings and drawings of London's north bank at the time. These include:

Artist	Title (date)	Gallery/Collection	Notes
John Boydell	Westminster and the York Buildings Waterworks	Palace of Westminster	[4]
Canaletto	London Seen Through an Arch of Westminster Bridge (1746–47)	Syon House	[5]
Canaletto	London: The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park	Tate Gallery L02305 from The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation	[6]
Canaletto	"The Thames at Westminster, London"	National Trust, Penrhyn Castle	[7]
Joseph Farington	The Old Water Tower at York Buildings, Whitehall	Victoria and Albert Museum
James Peller Malcolm	York Buildings looking towards Westminster with a View of the Water Tower		[8]
James Malton	The River Thames Looking Towards Westminster with York Water Gate and the York Building Water Works (1797)	Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums	[9]
William Marlow	The London Riverfront from Westminster to the Adelphi (1971–72)	Museum of London	[10]
Samuel Scott	An Arch of Westminster Bridge (c.1750)	Tate Gallery T01193	[11]
Samuel Scott	An Arch of Old Westminster Bridge (c.1750)	Tate Gallery N01223	[12]
After Samuel Scott	A View of the Thames with the York Buildings Water Tower	Tate Gallery N01328	[13]
After Samuel Scott	The Thames with the York Buildings Water Tower	National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery	[14]

References

1. "British Library Collection". British Library. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
2. G. H. Gater and E. P. Wheeler (1937). Survey of London: volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand. Institute of Historical Research. pp. 19–21. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
3. G. H. Gater and E. P. Wheeler (1937). Survey of London: volume 18: St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand Plate 31. Institute of Historical Research. pp. 19–21. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
4. "Boydell". BBC. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
5. "Canaletto". WikiPaintings. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
6. "L02305". Tate Gallery. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
7. "Canaletto". BBC. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
8. "Malcolm". WikiGallery. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
9. "Malton". Tyne & Wear Museums. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
10. "Marlow". BBC. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
11. "T01193". Tate Gallery. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
12. "N01223". Tate Gallery. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
13. "N01328". Tate Gallery. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
14. "Scott". BBC. Retrieved September 2013. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)