taken 7 years ago, near to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England
Ashby water tower at night
After around one year of renovation work, the house conversion has finished, and the tower is now floodlit. Being near the top of a hill, it is clearly visible from many places in Ashby.
Taken from the allotments.
Although it is commonly thought that Ashby is a spa town, and also recorded as such, it never was although it did have a spa baths. The water (having a high saline content) actually came from Moira, being at first a by-product of coal mining. A spa bath was constructed at Moira to exploit these reserves but was considered unfashionable by the clientele in those surroundings. Consequently the water was transported to Ashby - a more suitable site for those taking the waters - via the canal so far and then by tramway to a bath house which stood at the rear of the Royal Hotel. This was a large Crystal Palace style affair, demolished i think in the early part of the 20th century. Incidentally the Royal Hotel was originally named the Bath Hotel, it's name being changed for a royal visit. This leaves Moira as the true spa town, being the origin of the water.