On the outside a gold plated clock with decretive ornaments, on the inside a few dangling bells and whopping big water tank. To my mind quite possibly the most lavish of water tower in the whole of England.
To live beside water isn’t always that straightforward, especially when your house sits a few hundred feet above your gazing view of a snaking river. A simple solution to overcome the need for instant water, store it above to gain high pressure for the house below. Sounds easy if you have giant lake up the road, but what to do when you see the highest point? Easy, build a place to store the water even higher.
This simple solution was no mean feat, but when it was complete the great house had its own fresh supply of water, and in times of danger an instant way to navigate away from the potential of disastrous fire - which do have a terrible habit of sweeping through old houses.
The current house, a Victorian rebuild after is at best estimates the 3rd to adorn this prominent perch above the old Thames - the previous few having succumbed, yes you probably guessed it, to their own moments of fire, slippage and rubble.
This gargantuan clock tower at first inspection, was first planned for more water and hose than striking the hour. Perhaps during the architectural planning process, some bright spark had the idea of adding a sumptuous clock to face the exterior on all four sides. In an age of steam locomotive and making your train on time, so the humble clock had become a main stay and considerably more useful, and like all useful items, fashion and prestige followed in quick succession. To be seen with the best pocket watch or go one further and have yourself a fully fledged clock tower seemed to those, with acres and pots of cash match, the next step.
In-between Heathrow’s busy flight path, the chimes ring out across a valley, one not totally strewn with dual carriageway and bypass just yet, allowing those walking the Thames or drifting through Cookham to audibly hear the strikes of the hour.
In an age of plastic and gold wrist watches and chipped mobile devices, singing and pinging at every merry posting, this comforting sound stops most visitors to the gardens of Cliveden in their well heeled and clodhopper tracks; if only for a moment to dive into pockets to check the time on their own digital paraphernalia, or simply shift a look towards what most believe to be a ruddy big chiming of the time.
I love things that have wonderful form and good function, and this structure definitely fits neatly into that bracket. Put in place to cover a short fall in water, despite being on the banks of s big river, it was (and still is) simply a struggle to surge water up the hill to the house with enough speed to feed the taps, or perish the thought (again) the fire hoses.