Living the dream!
For decades, water towers dominated his sleeping mind – so fixated builder Mark Williamson moved into one
WE’D all love own our dream home eventually. But for the past seven years, retired builder Mark Williamson has been living – quite literally – in the house of his dreams. ‘From the age of about 20 I used to have a recurring dream about a water tower,’ the 55-year-old says. ‘I would build it in my sleep. Then, driving back from work one day, I stopped off at a pub and a chap pulled out a local newspaper and said, “Oh, there’s a water tower for sale.” So then I had the vision of buying one.
‘I came home to my partner Paula and said, “I’ve found something unique. Let’s go and have a look.” So we drove out here and when I saw it I thought, “Yes, this is it!” ’
Built in the 1890s to provide water for the nearby independent boarding school Culford, Mark’s beautifully appointed family home near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk was originally topped by an industrial cast-iron, 175-ton water tank.
This was founded by H. Young of Pimlico – the same company that made the sphinxes at Cleopatra’s Needle in London. The tower existed to draw up water from wells under the fields outside the village of Culford and feed it to the school by force of gravity.
It all worked well until 1976, when a new system was installed to pump water from the mains supply, leaving the tower redundant. It was left to decay on the Culford skyline until planning permission was finally granted for a modern conversion and it was put up for sale in 2010.
‘I spent a lot of time up here,’ says Mark. ‘I had engineers, architects and different sub-contractors round just to make sure everything was going to work… but it was mad really. We bought it for £271,000 and that was nearly the value of the house we were then living in.’
Fortunately, Mark, who owned his own construction company, was well equipped to handle the build himself. He and Paula bought a second-hand caravan and lived on site for the whole ten months it took to transform a crumbling old brick tower into a luxurious four-floor, five-bedroom home.
Nowadays, Mark explains, ‘you would never get planning permission to build anything as high in open countryside’.
As a result, this home boasts breathtaking views, particularly from the upstairs sitting room and what Mark calls his ‘gin and tonic terrace’ on the first floor. ‘You’re in the middle of a conservation area,’ Mark adds. ‘All you can see is forest and glimpses of villages in the far distance.’
For labour, the couple – who both have previous partners – relied on their grownup brood: Julian, 43, Carly, 33, Ben, 29, Liam, 27, and Ashley, 24, none of whom, as luck would have it, has a fear of heights.
They went on to spend £260,000 converting and extending the property. They were determined to preserve as many of its original features as possible – including the water tank, which was used for the master bedroom.
FOR Mark, who spent his entire career in the building trade, working on his water tower was ‘far more enjoyable – knowing the end result was for us. We finished under budget and ahead of time. It’s all about careful planning – and getting three prices for everything. It would have made a pretty boring episode of Grand Designs – there was no tragedy at all.’
Mark and Paula are hoping to downsize and move to north Norfolk with their dog, Teal. The Water Tower is on the market with Bedfords estate agents for offers above £1 million and the couple hope another family will soon get to enjoy their beloved home. ‘I think it would be a good thing to move away rather than being close by and driving past it every day,’ explains Paula.
As Mark concludes: ‘It’ll be a hell of a wrench. It’s been our baby. Ever since the days of my recurring dreams.’