The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
The 176-year-old Montrose Water Tower has been put up for sale by Norwegian owner Dag Reppe.
PROPERTY: Octagonal rooms, exposed cast-iron beams and high archways give the Tudor-style home a unique feel
One of the quirkiest and oldest residential buildings in Montrose has been put up for sale.
The 176-year-old Montrose Water Tower, which sits prominently on the town’s North Esk Road, is up for grabs for £550,000 after being converted into a unique four-bedroom home around 40 years ago.
The octagonal building’s original stonework features prominently throughout the four-storey home with high archways and exposed cast-iron beams giving the property a unique feel.
Built as the pride and joy of the town in 1841, the 65-foot Tudor-style property was designed to provide water to the surrounding area at a time when the town’s population was in the hundreds rather than thousands.
In the latter half of the 20th Century, the town’s water board no longer needed the facility and it lay disused for many years.
The cast-iron plates in the ceiling of the first floor of the building previously held the enormous water tank – capable of holding 200 tonnes of water – and are still visible.
The rooftop – accessible either by climbing the four flights of stairs or hopping in a basic outdoor goods lift – provides 360 degree views of the town and the basin.
The current owner, 74-year-old Norwegian Dag Reppe, has put it on the market after buying it around 10 years ago. The former deep-sea diver and engineer said: “It has the wow factor and there’s nothing really like it in the world. I’m expecting that, like me, someone will come and see it and just fall in love with it.
“It’s unique and it’s quirky which suits me as I’m a bit of an oddball.
“I don’t know if many people know that it has been converted from the old water tower but when people find out they are always interested to know what it’s like living in it.”
The home features two bedrooms on two separate mezzanine levels as well as a further two bedrooms on the upper floor, effectively splitting it into two apartments.
The property also has two bathrooms – one featuring an eye-catching antique pre-victorian bath – and two living areas.
The sandstone walls are three-feet thick with the building’s diameter around 30 feet.
Mr Reppe added: “Whoever decides to buy it, I will leave everything here and just pack my bags and leave – just like the lady did when I bought it.
“My wife – who lives in our other place in Johnshaven – thinks it’s time to offload the tower. She doesn’t like climbing all the stairs.
“It would be great for a family although it’d be impossible to find them when playing hide and seek.”