The structure was built in 1923 to receive water pumped from Thorpeness Windmill, and was designed to improve the looks of the water tower, disguising its tank with the appearance of a weatherboarded building more in keeping with Thorpeness's mock Tudor and Jacobean style, except seeming to float above the trees due to its height.
A water storage facility was erected in 1923 to collect water from Thorpeness Windmill. The structure was designed to conceal the tank within a weatherboarded exterior that harmonized with Thorpeness's distinctive mock Tudor and Jacobean aesthetic, creating an optical illusion of the building hovering above the surrounding trees.