Derelict Water Tower, Itchingfield

After another uncomfortably hot day at work, I went to Itchingfield. There is a good network of footpaths hereabouts and one goes up a hill towards Locketts Farm. At more or less the summit is the field edge and a small deep looking pond and the crumbling remains of a water tower seen here. The tank at the top looks like an old domestic galvanised header tank, but is much larger and seems to be L shaped. It is possible however, that the corner section is missing making it look that way. What was it used for and how old is it?

Well, the 1876 25 inch map shows the pond but no structures. By 1897, the map records a Hydraulic Pump and by 1911 there was a Windpump. I did contact an excellent company by email some time ago and they have in their records confirming the supply of a Hydraulic Ram in the area, which could well be connected to the water tower. I think that the tower was erected some time prior to 1897 and included a Hydraulic Ram that pumped water which was stored in the tank at the top for farm use. There is no trace of the windpump which probably would have looked something like the metal vaned structures found in the United States. These were erected over many parts of the country and were locally made at Littlehampton by Duke & Ockenden - Off the top of my head there is a working example to be seen at Amberley Working Museum.