Jumbo Water Tower tours end 1 Nov; councils add £100,000

The public tours of Jumbo will stop at the end of October. Half term week is the last chance to climb Colchester’s Victorian water tower before it closes for building work.

North Essex Heritage, the charity restoring the tower, said hoardings will go up around it ready for enabling works. Those works are due to start early next month.

The news came a day after Colchester City Council and Essex County Council pledged an extra £100,000 towards the restoration. The two councils work together as Team Colchester.

The last tours

The charity’s final tour times are:

The tours page lists a tour at £15 a person, lasting an hour. The conditions are strict:

• children must be at least eight and come with an adult
• visitors must be fit enough to climb 157 steep steps
• the climb ends at the cupola, 40 metres above the ground
• places are limited, and the charity says weekend tours have usually sold out in minutes

Simon Hall, chair of North Essex Heritage, said the charity was “sad to see the end of our regular weekend tours”. He said shorter tours of parts of the building might be possible once construction is under way, “but access will be restricted”.

“After years of hard work behind the scenes, we are thrilled to finally see the hoarding go up,” he said.

Where the money stands

The council says the £100,000 is meant to strengthen the funding package and help the charity win further grants. It did not say what the money will pay for.

Funding announced for the project so far includes:

• a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant (see the note below on its size)
• £1.1 million in government grants, according to the city council
• £200,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, announced by the charity in December 2025
• support from Historic England and the city council, which the charity lists as backers
• the new £100,000 from Team Colchester

A note on the Lottery figure. This week’s council release puts the Heritage Fund grant at £11.3 million. The Heritage Fund’s own announcement in January 2025 was for £8 million. We could not find a published record of the grant being increased. Until one appears, treat £8 million as the confirmed award.

Neither the council nor the charity gave a cost for the whole project or a reopening date this week.

Cllr Paul Dundas, leader of Colchester City Council, said the money showed the council’s “continued commitment to seeing the building restored and brought back into use for future generations”. Cllr Jeff Bray, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, called Jumbo “a landmark not just for Colchester but for Essex as a whole”.

What Jumbo will become

The plan is to turn the Grade II* listed tower into a year-round visitor attraction, community space and events venue. The council release says it will offer heritage displays, events and better access throughout the building.

The charity says displays inside the old water tank will tell Jumbo’s story, and windows in the tank will give views across the city.

The tower has stood over the Balkerne Gate for 143 years. The Heritage Fund describes it as the last intact listed water tower of its era, built from 1.2 million local bricks to hold 1,000 tons of water.

What it means for you

• If you have always meant to go up Jumbo, book now. After 1 November there are no regular tours, and the charity cannot yet say when or whether shorter tours will run during the works.
• If you walk or drive past Balkerne Gate, expect hoardings around the tower from November. Our roadworks and travel page will carry any road or footway closure once one is published.
• If you want to help, ticket money goes to the charity’s Love Jumbo Appeal.

We will update this story when the works start and when the funding figure is confirmed.

Sources:

• North Essex Heritage, “Last chance to tour Jumbo”, 18 October 2026: tour dates, times, conditions, enabling works and the chair’s comments.
• North Essex Heritage tours page, read 22 October 2026: price, duration, age guidance, height of the cupola.
• Colchester City Council, “Team Colchester pledges £100,000”, 19 October 2026: the pledge, the £11.3 million figure, the plans and the councillors’ comments.
• National Lottery Heritage Fund, January 2025: the £8 million award and the tower’s history.
• Colchester City Council, The Jumbo Project and Balkerne Gate: the £1.1 million government grants.
• North Essex Heritage, “Major boost for Jumbo”, 30 December 2025: the Garfield Weston Foundation grant and the list of backers.