# St Edward's Hospital, Cheddleton (Third Staffs County Asylum)- Water Tower Conversion



## staffordshireranger (Jun 2, 2007)

st edwards asylum water tower, grand design conversion. 

THE HISTORY

St Edwards was constructed in 1897 to cope with the influx of patients from the nearby Staffordshire asylums, this entire site was set in ancient woodland and was amazingly landscaped...

but today the site lays half derelict and half converted, 
the centre of this complex is the WATER TOWER 135ft tall, 8 floors and the water tank could hold 161 tonnes of water !

THE CONVERSION

The site became vacant in 1999 and was wrecked within a year...and REDROW HOMES & BRYANT took up the job of the conversion which still goes on today...however the water tower was earmarked for demolition by redrow and it was finally brought by a builder called "Robbie Williams" who also purchased the nearby church. so Robbie contacted "grand designs" in a view to then filming this amazing conversion...but he was turned down in favour of the water tower recently shown on tv a few nights ago... but this tower was far more graceful than that one and this one is ultra modern..im not going to give you that much info on the conversion ill let the pictures speak for themselves.......

ACCESS

As this house is now lived in by robbie and his family i wrote a letter to him and after a few weeks of hearing nothing he agreed the let me have a look around......and these pictures are exclusive and do not exist anywhere on the 
net.......so enjoy.






the view across the parkland




the tower




kitchen




exisiting stairwell




dining room




en suite




main bathroom




walk in shower




main bedroom




top floor admin block view




top floor (gallery and snooker room)




top floor gallery




star wars




ohh look it`s zippy




anyone for snooker




roof




the view (admin block and arfull new flats)




other asylum buildings




robbo`s church keeping a eye on his investment




now that`s a view




bryant homes what were you thinking (nicknamed toy town)




work in progress on rest of asylum




look up !

well that`s your lot...it goes to show that conversions can look good..and at least this was not demolished...now the irony...redrow wanted it gone ! and now they use it on the leaflets and website.!

more reports coming soon...sorry for the heavy pictures


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## Foxylady (Jun 2, 2007)

*Re: St Edwards Asylum (water Tower) Conversion*

Thankyou very much for letting us see that, Steve. What a scoop, eh? 
Really enjoyed your pics and good to see a conversion instead of demolition. Amazing views from the tower. Do you know what he plans to do with the church?

Cheers
Foxy


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## staffordshireranger (Jun 2, 2007)

*Re: St Edwards Asylum (water Tower) Conversion*

he is selling the church at the moment....but having some trouble as it`s a very sensitive area. ! i will do a report soon on the asylum itself soon...load to come from me......about time too...lol i`ve been a bit silent on the report front..


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## King Al (Jun 2, 2007)

Nice one Steve, it really is great to see one survive and start a new life.

Thanks
king Al


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## lost (Jun 2, 2007)

That's inspiring, I'm glad something was made of the water tower. A lot of them just seem to be left behind because they're usually listed and difficult to convert into profitable apartments.


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## Lightbuoy (Jun 6, 2007)

Don't know how I missed your post on this tower!! Absolutely stunning pics SR. Thanks for the background info too. This is a perfect example how an old building / structure can be successfully re-used, rather than flattening! 

Lb


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## smileysal (Jun 7, 2007)

Wow, that place looks amazing. they've done a brilliant job of converting it into a family home. excellent. and agree with foxy, what a brilliant coup.   

can't believe i missed this post.  again.

Cheers, and thanks for the pics. brilliant.

 Sal


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## staffordshireranger (Jun 12, 2007)

MORE FROM ST EDWARDS ASYLUM,CHEDDLETON,LEEK
i would like to share a few more pictures, of this great place.






























































































HOPE YOU GET A FEEL OF THIS GREAT CONVERSION.


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## Foxylady (Jun 12, 2007)

Excellent report Steve. It really helps to see the whole area and where everything is in relation to one another.
Liking the inside pics too, especially the one with the broken windows. And that clock tower's rather neat.

Cheers for that
Foxy


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## smileysal (Jun 12, 2007)

I love that water tower, can't believe how much room there is, and how much stuff they've got in it, yet still with loads of room. Looks brilliant. It must be awesome to live in there and have that wonderful view in all directions. 

They're doing a great job of the conversion. Thats good to see.

Cheers Steve,

 Sal


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## smileysal (Jun 13, 2007)

Thanks OT, love that church organ and the fire in the fireplace. Is the chapel before the start of the conversion or during it?

Cheers,

 Sal


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## Foxylady (Jun 13, 2007)

That's one helluva nice chapel. 
Like the cosy seating arrangement. Wouldn't mind having a tea break there myself. 

Cheers
Foxy


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## smileysal (Jun 13, 2007)

That would be a damm fine opportunity for someone to convert. love the red at the front of the chapel. If that conversion goes as well as the rest of the Hospital, it will look good. fingers crossed its by the same people.

Cheers OT,

 Sal


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## staffordshireranger (Jun 13, 2007)

First up....A big thanks to OT ! for adding the chapel pictures, he has made the entire location report complete ! nice one.
as OT points out it is and was a tool store for the owner of the watertower!
sales on the chapel keep falling thru as the owner tells me people just come round posing as fake buyers..just to have a look around the chapel and tower for free, he never converted it himself due to the amount of time it took to do the tower, the area is very strict on what you can and can`t do.
again thanks..ot...........SR


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## King Al (Jun 13, 2007)

staffordshireranger;13895; said:


> the owner tells me people just come round posing as fake buyers..just to have a look around the chapel and tower for free



Hmmm not a bad idea that...  is severals still for sale 


What I could be proprety tycoon


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## miss survey (Jan 26, 2008)

Update on history.

St Edwards closed in August 2001, and the builders moved in straight away, so it was not left derelict.
Some of the wards in the first set of pics were closed 15 or more years ago so if windows were broken were just boarded up. These wards were wards 10 - 13 and 20 - 24 if I remember rightly, as I worked there until it closed.


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