water tower

Freestanding square-plan railway water tower, built c.1880. Red brick walls laid in English bond, surmounted by concrete water-tank with date '1921'. Round-arch window openings with red brick voussoirs, multiple-pane cast-iron windows, and limestone sills. Square-headed door opening with concrete lintel, having round-arch window above. Fixed wrought-iron access ladder to south elevation. Water supply pump mechanism from Drumore River immediately to west of tower at buttress walls to railway bridge. Tower located north-west of Ballybay town centre, west of former Ballybay railway station.

This is a very complete survivor of the railway era, and an interesting element of technical built heritage. The tower is notable also for its distance from the station, its construction having been determined by proximity to the Dromore River, a largely complete series of pipes and a water-pump demonstrating this relationship. The cast-iron windows display the use of industrial foundry castings which played an integral part in railway buildings and infrastructure.