Monument record MBC47812 - Possible transformer station or water tower approximately 850m east of Meadacre Farm, Kimblewick

A possible transformer station or possible water tower for domestic/farm supply, of 20th century date is visible on historic aerial photographs as an extant building and was mapped as part of the Aylesbury Vale Aerial Investigation and Mapping project (EBC18604). Located approximately 850m east of Meadacre Farm, Kimblewick, and centred at SP 81129 08338. This building, demolished between 2006 and 2017, is visible mainly by its very long shadow on aerial photographs. It is an approximately two storey building that is no more than 5x3m in plan. It has a steep pitched tile roof with access doorways, under pitched roof entranceways, on each short side. On the field side of the building, still visible on a 2010 Google Streetview image, a long narrow, possible grille, is visible halfway up the elevation and a square headed window opening is visible below this. A ‘pipe’ extends from the upper floor, on the western side of the building, which may have been a connector for electricity cables or a pipe for water. This building is not present on the Epoch 1 Ordnance Survey map, nor on the 1922 6inch map of the area. It is visible by 1946 and it appears on aerial photographs up until 2003 on Google Earth Pro, and on Google Streetview in 2010, but is gone from aerial coverage by 2017. Three images of the building were found on Geograph, taken in 2005, 2006 and 2015, where it is identified only as ‘mystery building’ or a possible water tower for a domestic/farm supply.
No information was available about this building from any online sources and the local archaeological society (Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society) were very interested but could not help. A library user known to the Society and known for his extensive knowledge of electricity supply replied ‘I don’t think it is an electricity substation. There would be no need to have an expensive building in the countryside when a transformer on a pole would suffice for the local demand. Furthermore Eastern Electricity Board who took over from Aylesbury Borough Council in 1947 would have been very cost aware and I see no reason for such a structure’. The Kimblewick parish council was contacted to see if they had any further information, but they did not reply. No information about any demolition could be found online. An online search for images of transformer houses showed similar structures on mainland Europe, especially in Germany. (1-13)