Mary and Sean Davies bought the land at a former RAF Hospital site – and ‘can’t afford’ to leave the project unfinished
A couple who have spent more than four years converting a Second World War water tower into a seven-bedroom home want to “enjoy” their efforts before the husband’s motor neurone disease (MND) symptoms worsen.
Mary and Sean Davies, 57 and 55 respectively, currently live on more than an acre of land at the RAF Hospital Nocton Hall site in Lincolnshire – a now disused military hospital which once served to treat injured soldiers – after the couple purchased the 1940s water tower and its accompanying holding tank for £25,000 in 2018.
Married for 31 years, Sean, a tree and landscape officer for Newark and Sherwood District Council, and Mary, who works as a milker at a local dairy farm, started the hefty renovation job in 2021, armed with a £350,000 budget and dreams to turn it into a seven-bedroom, four-bath home.
The couple, who have five children and five grandchildren, faced hiccups along the way, such as staying in a caravan for a short period while the site was unlivable and ensuring their own utilities, including sewage treatment and drinking water, were properly installed on the once uninhabited space.
After unexpected renovation costs took them over budget, the pair launched a GoFundMe page for support to complete the build as they estimate they will spend £500,000 in total – and they “can’t afford” to leave the project unfinished as they would be left with “nothing”.
Thankfully, the couple predict the work will be wrapped up by the end of the summer – with just renovations on the top three floors of the five-level tower left to complete, as well as the installation of a sprinkler system.
After Sean was diagnosed with MND during the works in March 2023, which is currently incurable and progressively damages parts of the nervous system, they want to ensure he has time to “enjoy” their efforts before the condition worsens.
“The sooner it’s all finished, the sooner we can enjoy it,” Mary told PA Real Life.
“Sean’s diagnosis made us even more determined to get the project completed.
“For him to be able to experience what we have created here in its fullest and reach the top of the tower, he needs to be mobile.
“He’s mobile now, but we don’t know how long for.”
Mary and Sean purchased the water tower at the now disused RAF Hospital Nocton Hall site in 2018 for £25,000.
Having previously lived in council properties, the couple were motivated to relocate to the site by the amount of space and privacy they would acquire, with more than an acre of land attached to the sale.
“When we arrive home, we go through the big military gates on the site and drive past all the derelict buildings,” Sean said.
“There’s no street lighting, no public access, no neighbours – we’re driving through history just to reach our home.
“When the site finally gets developed, the tower is very likely going to be the only bit which remains.”
Mary added: “It’s been part of the landscape for the locals since the 40s, it would have been a shame for that to have disappeared.
“We’re custodians to the water tower, I don’t feel like we own it really and, one day, it will be passed onto someone else in the future when we’ve finished enjoying it.”
The couple also have personal connections to the site when it was up and running, as Mary’s father worked as a civilian electrician at the hospital and Sean was a patient there when he was seven years old.
With the tower’s bricks measuring half a metre thick, Sean said the couple knew “it would be a fantastic build” if they were to convert it – and they set about turning the 15m-tall structure and its holding tank into a homely seven-bedroom, four-bath property.
While the bedrooms and bathrooms are situated in the tower itself, the kitchen, living room, office space, gym, utility room and a toilet are located in a glass, two-storey extension to the structure, created using the existing foundations from the holding tank.
“It was the only way we could get planning permission so it was a little more costly with the glass and the timber frame, but at the end of it we’re going to have a seven-bedroom property,” Mary said.
During renovations, the couple had to stay in a caravan close to the tower for a very short period while the site was unlivable.
They also had to install their own utilities in the once uninhabited space – such as sewage treatment, filtration for drinking water and a heating tank.
The tower itself is “not a huge space” width-wise, Mary said, but it has the potential to contain five floors thanks to its height – two floors of which are now functioning as bedrooms and a bathroom, with just the final three to complete.
“We’re experiencing now what it’s like to sleep in the tower,” Mary said.
“It’s the perfect place for a restful sleep, it’s absolutely brilliant, and it’s a miracle we’ve been able to do this.”
To fully complete the renovation, the couple need to finish the conversion of the tower, install a sprinkler system and round off any plastering, painting and decorating.
After Sean received an MND diagnosis in March 2023 throughout the renovations, the couple are hoping to complete the conversion by the end of the summer to allow him to “enjoy” their hard work before the condition worsens.
Thankfully, Sean said he is receiving an experimental treatment drug named Tofersen, which he has been taking for around a year and which he feels has helped manage his symptoms – such as weakness and muscle reduction.
“It’s given us hope for a better future,” Mary said.
The pair launched a GoFundMe page to help them complete the conversion after unexpected costs left them over budget – estimating they will spend £500,000 in total.
“We’re really grateful to everyone who has donated,” Mary said.
“You don’t set up a GoFundMe page without a lot of thought and we’re just trying to relieve some of the stress on us.
“Once you start a project like this, you’ve got to finish it – you can’t afford to not finish it because then you’ve got nothing.”
To find out more, visit Mary and Sean’s GoFundMe page here: gofundme.com/f/complete-converting-a-ww2-water-tower
