Central Hydraulic Tower — Attraction in Wirral

Jesse Hartley, a noted civil engineer who had been responsible for many of Liverpool’s maritime structures such as Albert Dock was drafted in to design the Hydraulic Tower. In addition to being a highly functional building, Hartley intended it to be highly aesthetic too. As a result, the design of the Hydraulic Tower was based upon the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Della Signoria, Florence, Italy.

The 110ft tower with its machicolated embattled parapet and rock-faced stone dressings replete with its three-storey engine house lends an air of Mediterranean grandeur to the heart of what is now Wirral Waters.

On its completion in 1863, the Hydraulic Tower was immediately pressed into service to power what were now bustling, thriving docks. And the Tower continued to play its designated role for the next 90-odd years until, during the Second World War, it sustained serious bomb damage. Repairs were made with utilitarian, rather than aesthetic, considerations at the fore. Thus, distinctive features such as the large lantern which had sat upon the top of the tower, were not replaced.

It was in this somewhat diminished state that the Hydraulic Tower continued to serve by what was at that point the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), until eventually it was retired from service and fell into its current state...

Drove passed today and decided to stop and have a look, looks in a very sad state, warning signs everywhere, looks at some point it had clocks on the tower, dad that so many of these historic buildings are...

Impressive but inaccessible due to the dangerous state of the building. Work needs to commence and soon, or it's gonna be yet another listed structure that can't be saved because it's too...