The Appleton Water Tower stands high on a broad chalk ridge overlooking the village of West Newton. This ornate structure is now a unique holiday let, yet it was once a functional pumping station, providing clean water for the Sandringham Royal Estate.

In 1871 Queen Victoria received the chilling news that her son, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) had fallen ill with typhoid at his Norfolk home. It was the same disease that had killed her beloved husband Prince Albert 10 years earlier. Typhoid was rife, caught from drinking filthy water. To avoid infection even children drank beer, as the brewing process killed off bacteria. However, the King’s Lynn Times commented ‘Evidently the people of Lynn like their sewage and they like it neat’. Clearly something had to be done.

Supervised by Robert Rawlinson, who’d identified the cause of the Prince’s illness, civil engineer James Mansergh was appointed to oversee the construction of a new water supply for Sandringham House. He used a natural chalk spring gushing through 750 yards of stoneware pipes to a 32,000-gallon tank. In 1877 the Princess of Wales laid the first foundation stone and within the year the system was complete and Sandringham had clean, safe water.

Making the most of the tower’s height, Mansergh added a Royal viewing room overlooking the landscape, with private staircase to avoid workers. So if you stay and bump into someone on the stairs, who knows, it might be a future monarch!