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York’s oldest railway structure to be refurbished into brass band HQ
Cristina Lago Deputy Editor
South elevation, water tower (Image: Alan Baxter)
Network Rail has received planning approval to restore York’s oldest surviving railway structure and turn it into the rehearsal space of a brass band.
The Grade II-listed York Water Tower was built in 1839 and was originally used to supply water to locomotives when York’s first main railway station was under construction.
A plan from the 1930s shows a change in the building's use, with the foundry becoming a clerk's office, although there is no indication as to when the water tank stopped being used, according to a report prepared for Network Rail by multidisciplinary design firm Alan Baxter.
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Plan of railway buildings in York (including the York Water Tower, left centre) from some point between 1930 and 1937 (Credit: Network Rail National Records Group)
There is little information on the uses of the building following the Second World War. More recently, the eastern extension was used as an artists' studio, with the space under the water tank repurposed as a gym.
The building had fallen into disrepair in recent years and is currently unoccupied.
The restoration project will include repairing internal and external elements of the water tower like-for-like, to meet conservation standards using materials which match the original as closely as possible.
York Water Tower c.1971, from the West (Image: Bill Fawcett)
Once completed, it will provide the York Railway Institute Band, currently located next door, with a rehearsal space with an accessible toilet, kitchenette and an instrument store.
The building's second unit will be 'white boxed' for potential future tenants.
The building sits within the £25m York Station Frontage regeneration project, which requires the demolition of the current York Railway Institute Band’s rehearsal space.
Network Rail will now compile a full funding package and choose a contractor to deliver the project.
West elevation, water tower (Image: Alan Baxter)
Mike Stancliffe, Network Rail's principal development manager, said: “This Queen Street site was historically associated with the development of the railways and is now a focus of educational, sporting and recreational activities associated with the York Railway Institute, so this site is well-suited to re-house the band practice room.
“The water tower is of considerable historical interest. It is currently in a poor condition but it’s a striking building and can still have a big future.
“Providing the band room here means they won’t have to move very far at all, while also preserving an important piece of York’s railway heritage.”
Chris Smith, trustee of the York Railway Institute charity, added: “It’s an exciting project which we have been working on with Network Rail for several years.
“Hopefully we can agree terms for a new lease which will enable the scheme to proceed and breath life back into an important listed building. If we can finalise the lease, it will secure the long-term future of the three Railway Insititute bands.”
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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