19th Century London Water Tower Transformed into a Unique, High-Flying Home

Here at Inhabitat we've shared several old <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/water-tower/">water towers</a> that have been converted into homes, but this 1867 London water tower house is one of the tallest and most impressive we've seen. Developer Leigh Osborne transformed the 145-year-old structure into what he describes as "one of the most lavish and eccentric residences in the city," according to <a href="http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/9899942.Penarth_man_s__Grand_Design__is_a_towering_triumph_/">a recent article in the Penarth Times</a>. Osborne and his partner Graham Voce spent less than a year and £2 million ($3.2 million) renovating and converting the Gothic water tower into a one-of-a-kind home.

The eight-story water tower was designed to the nearby Lambeth Workhouse and Hospital, and it was the tallest water tower in all of London when it was completed in 1867.

But the tower fell into disuse in the 20th century, and it became home to thousands of pigeons.

"There were 2,000 dead pigeons in there, and poo that went up to the top of your wellies!" Osborne told the Penarth Times.

Converting a structure that was built to hold water into one that's more conducive to human activities is no small task.

Workers had to remove a great deal of brick to create enough room for living spaces, and Osborne and Voce also added an addition that features a modern kitchen, living room and a home gym.

A new elevator was added, which links up with the original twisting staircase.

And Osborne converted to top of the tower, which previously held 750,000 gallons of water, into a living room with 360-degree views of London.

Incredibly, the entire build-out only took eight months.

“It was incredibly complicated, because we had a sharp deadline and an evaporating budget,” Osborne told the Times.

“We just threw money at this thing to employ the dozens of workers that were needed to make it happen,” said Osborne

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