Almost everywhere around the world, historical buildings are treated as special keepsakes from the past. We use them to study, document, and simply admire days gone by.
But sometimes, it can be hard to keep an old building both preserved and useful. If your town already has enough museums, how can you appreciate a historical building without it becoming an economic drain?
Simple! You clean it out, spruce it up, and turn it into a gorgeous little home — like these bright folks did with an old water tower.
Some people define a "house" as a chimneyed rectangle with a yawning driveway. But every day I see homes that challenge that age-old concept, and the results are incredible.
Who knew that you could preserve history in such a creative way? Looking at the inside of this home, I simply can't believe it used to hold water from the Victorian era…
Would you live in a home like this? I definitely think I would!
Please SHARE if you think it's important to preserve historical buildings!
In the town of Hertfordshire, England, a historical building from the Victorian era has been completely transformed.
This 19th-century utility building, once used to store water, is now a gorgeous 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house, and its design has been awarded for excellence.
But although the home is beautiful — and brilliantly designed — I can't help but wonder what a person from the 1800s would make of it.
Given the importance of water to the Victorian people, I imagine they'd be surprised to hear a family would live within a water tower...
In Victorian England, water towers were brilliant solutions to a crippling water problem. Every day, people died from water consumption.
Before water towers or plumbing came about, water was often stored in rotting wooden barrels covered in flaky paint.
When the water barrels ran low, the old water wasn't emptied before new water was poured in.
The water was often thick, brown, and filled with bacteria. It was likened to mud.
Because water conditions were so bad, Victorian folks preferred to drink beer. They didn't know that the beer was safe to drink because it had been boiled.
But consuming water was unavoidable. As water was often used to bake bread, even a simple sandwich could be your undoing.
The rivers and streams in Victorian England were even worse than the barrel water, as they carried sewage as well as rainwater.
That meant that in the summertime, villages along the riverbanks were very stinky places. One summer in London, 1858, was so smelly that historians called it "The Great Stink."
Because of its contaminated waters, disease ran rampant in Victorian England. That's why water towers, plumbing, and sewage systems were so revolutionary.
Suddenly, thanks to adequate storage and draining, water was no longer "Monster Soup," but fresh, potable, life-giving liquid. That's why this little water tower house is so special!
It marks a very important time in Victorian history, and it's beautiful to boot. Would you like to live here?
Please SHARE if you love historical homes!
