This structure overlooking Bristol Street was the water tower for the Great Western Railway and a vital part of safety.  According to the Spring 2014 edition of the Swindon Heritage magazine (page 65) it provided a high pressure water supply for fire fighting to the Works, especially the near-by saw mills.  Apart from just one change (the size of the water tank) the structure has remained the same since it was built in 1871/2.  Countless people will have seen this as a feature of the sky-line of Swindon even though the rest of that sky-line has changed so much over the years.

The structure is a Grade II listed building - for more information about the listing see the:  Historic England  website.

During 2014 work took place to renovate the tower and adjacent buildings - undertaken by the University Technical College which now occupies the buildings.  Thankfully they have taken the line to 'refurbish not scrap' what lies in these buildings so some of Swindon's history will be saved.  No doubt this increased the cost and in today's financial climate that must have been quite a difficult decision -so well deserving of praise and a good lesson for their young pupils.