Toxteth Reservoir, Reservoir in Toxteth, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Toxteth Reservoir is a large brick and sandstone water storage building on High Park Street, on a hill in Liverpool. Inside, high vaulted ceilings are supported by cast iron columns, giving the space a cathedral-like feeling that few visitors expect.
The reservoir was completed in 1850, at a time when Liverpool was growing fast and badly needed clean water for a population swelled by immigration and industry. It was part of a network of city reservoirs that brought water by gravity from Rivington Pike, in the Lancashire hills, around 20 miles away.
The building can be seen from the outside at any time from High Park Street, as it sits on one of the higher points of the Toxteth area. The interior is not regularly open to the public, but it is occasionally opened for events and exhibitions.
The water that filled this reservoir never needed a pump: it flowed entirely by gravity from the hills of Lancashire, covering roughly 20 miles without any machinery. The walls are over 8 feet thick, which is part of why the building still stands in good condition today.
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