History of the building
as described by LONDON OPEN HOUSE

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 ending 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, and the thick walls and brutal industrial fittings of the tanks and remaining machinery reinforce this inside. 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 housed their flywheels.
In 1995 Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners imaginatively converted the building into an indoor climbing centre and the interior is now a maze of artificial rock faces on different levels, studded with climbers like fridge magnets. The adapted interior utilises the raw brick arches of the original, and the massive cast-iron columns carrying over-head beams. Coloured banners articulate the principal spaces and evoke the Middle Ages, as do the climbers in bright costumes, 'besieging' the walls inside the Castle.

The Castle Climbing Project

A private company was set up in 1993 by three enthusiasts to develop the project at The Castle. A lease was acquired for the old water pumping station at Stoke Newington and funding was raised in the form of equity, loans and sponsorship from a mixture of private and public sources.
The Castle Climbing Centre opened to the public in October 1995 and has dominated the indoor climbing market in London ever since. Development and improvement of the facilities at The Castle has continued since then and the size of the facilities and customer visits has doubled.
The building is a prestigious feature in the area and was on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register until Castle Climbing secured it with a commercial future. Inside it the company have constructed over 1,200 square metres of artificial rock climbing walls that customers use to develop their rock climbing skills in a controlled and weatherproof environment.

The Indoor Climbing Scene

Rock climbing has emerged as one of the fastest growing sports in the UK today. The South East of England contains 40% of the population but has virtually no naturally occurring crags or rock faces on which people can practice the sport of rock climbing. This popularity has been added to by both the growing use of climbing as the dramatic subject of recent popular films and advertisements and the growing acceptance of its use in facilitating the development of communication skills in both professional teams and groups in need of rehabilitation.
The Castle is one of only a few large-scale indoor climbing facilities in the London area and is currently the busiest such centre in the UK. Customers come from all walks of life and range from experienced climbers wanting to practice for the real thing to modern health club users who are looking for a more stimulating way to work out.

The Future

The vision of the management and staff at The Castle is to be recognised as the leading indoor rock-climbing centre in the UK by providing a continually evolving, comprehensive, customer centred service that creates a stimulating environment for climbers at all levels of the sport.
There is a growing market for the sport and still much room left for expansion in The Castle so the company intends to continue developing on the solid foundations already set.