Jumbo Water Tower

About

Jumbo Water Tower is a water tower at the Balkerne Gate in Colchester, Essex, and the largest water tower in the UK. Charles Clegg (c. 1855 – c.

1904), the Borough Surveyor and Engineer, designed the structure. The tower is 40.1 metres (132 ft) tall overall and contains 1.2 million red bricks. The tower was nicknamed 'Jumbo' after the London Zoo elephant as a term of derision in 1882 by Reverend John Irvine, who was annoyed that the tower dwarfed his nearby rectory at St Mary-at-the-Walls.