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Did it used to be a real castle?

Kind of...

...The building was constructed in 1856 as a pumping-station for the supply of fresh water in east London, in the wake of a cholera epidemic.  It was sited on the New River, channelled in the early C17 by Sir Hugh Myddelton to bring water to London from Hertfordshire, and ended near Sadlers Wells. 
The Castle was designed and built by William Chadwell Mylne, and is a spectacular example of the Victorian propensity for interpreting functional industrial buildings in the architectural style of earlier ages.  Here it is a French mediaeval castle, complete with parapets and three different towers, set on a raised mound as if within a moat, looking like something from a Book of Hours, although Mylne is said to have taken Stirling Castle as his inspiration.  The impression is of defensive solidity, reinforced inside by the thick walls and brutal industrial fittings of the tanks and remaining machinery.  The tallest tower was the boiler-house chimney, and the tower with the square top housed a water-tank. The keep contained six mass steam engines and the buttresses house their flywheels.

In 1995, Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners imaginatively converted the building into The Castle Climbing Centre, and the interior is now a maze of artificial rock faces on different levels, studded with climbers. The adapted interior utilises the raw brick arches of the original, and the massive cast-iron columns carrying overhead beams.  It is now one of the most popular indoor climbing centres in the country.

 
The Castle Climbing Centre, Green Lanes, Stoke Newington, London N4 2HA
Phone: 020 8211 7000, Fax: 020 8211 7720, email: info@castle-climbing.co.uk
Open weekdays 2pm-10pm, weekends 10am-7pm, bank holidays 10am-10pm
Copyright 2007 The Castle Climbing Centre | Site Design E8 Design