House in the clouds

This wonderful folly started life as a water tower, storing water for use in Thorpeness, the holiday village in Suffolk built by Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie in the 1920's. It was filled with water from a well pumped by the nearby Thorpeness wooden windmill, which still stands.

To mask the rather ugly structure, the support for the water tank was clad with weatherboarding and converted to living accommodation. In 1979, after mains water was provided to the village, the water tank was removed and the new top floor added. The whole dwelling, which is Grade II listed, can now be rented as a very substantial and prominent holiday home.