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Summary

Description

BYEWASH: John F Bateman, 1856. Roughly rectangular symmetrical masonry enclosure with bowed projection at E side. Bull-faced snecked red sandstone to outer face; polished ashlar to inner face. Rounded copes. Outflow arch down hill to W.

INTERIOR: central cast-iron trough carrying conduit between arched openings with prominent voussoirs and shallow steps to each side. Entrance gate over N arch. Masonry structure directs the burn to flow underneath conduit at right-angles.

ACCESS CHAMBER: James M Gale, 1890. Subterranean chamber, with cylindrical snecked sandstone ventilation shaft with access gate and domed wrought-iron 'birdcage' top; external steps to chamber with retaining walls and railings. Security covers added 2007.

ENCLOSURE: early 20th century. Simple iron railings to N and E, linking to earlier rubble field boundary wall at W. Iron foot gate to N of byewash; iron vehicle gate to S, both of standard GCWW design.

Statement of Special Interest

The byewash and access chamber occupy a prominent position on a sloping site and form a good group within a partially-walled enclosure. The grouping increases the merit of both.

Lettre Byewash is one 6 masonry byewashes that were designed as part of the first phase of the Glasgow Corporation Water Works system (see below for significance of the scheme as a whole), which was built from 1856 onwards. This sturdily-constructed masonry enclosure with its simple, yet well-considered detailing is a fine piece of civil engineering. Byewashes were designed to allow the conduit to cross small streams without them contaminating the water in it, although in this case the stream appears to have been partially diverted following the building of the access chamber. The conduit is carried across the stream in a cast-iron trough while the stream falls in and out of the byewash below it. There are 6 byewashes along the course of the 1855 aqueduct, all located at the lower end of the system that passes through red sandstone bedrock. Byewashes were not constructed at the upper end because of the lack of suitable building stone.

The access chamber was constructed as part of the second aqueduct following the 1885 Act (see below). It is one of about 8 such subterranean chambers, and has been selected for listing as a good representative example of the type.

The Glasgow Corporation Water Works system, which brings water down to Glasgow from Loch Katrine, was admired internationally as an engineering marvel when it was opened in 1860. It was one of the most ambitious civil engineering schemes to have been undertaken in Europe since Antiquity, employing the most advanced surveying and construction techniques available, including the use of machine moulding and vertical casting technologies to produce the cast-iron pipes. The scheme represents the golden age of municipal activity in Scotland and not only provided Glasgow with fresh drinking water, thereby paving the way for a significant increase in hygiene and living standards, but also a source of hydraulic power that was indispensable to the growth of Glasgow's industry as a cheap and clean means of lifting and moving heavy plant in docks, shipyards and warehouses. The civic pride in this achievement is visible in every structure connected with the scheme, from the neatly-detailed gates and railings along its route, to the massive masonry structures and iron troughs that carry the conduit and, in most cases, have withstood without failure or noticeable deterioration the daily pressure of many millions of gallons of water for well over 100 years.

Glasgow's Lord Provost, Robert Stewart (1810-66) was the driving force behind the implementation of a municipally-owned water scheme to provide clean water to Glasgow's rapidly increasing population. Loch Katrine was identified as a suitable supply and after some objections from various parties, an Act of Parliament authorising the scheme was passed in 1855. The scheme was built in two main phases following this Act and another 1885. The 1855 scheme, which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1859 and was fully operational by 1860, had been designed to allow for significant expansion as demand increased, and this work was carried in the 20 years following the opening. The 1885 Act allowed a second aqueduct to be built, which followed a slightly shorter course than the earlier scheme. The capacity of the second aqueduct was also expanded during the first half of the 20th century.

John Frederick Bateman (1810-1889) was chosen as the engineer for the scheme and construction work commenced in 1856. Bateman was to become one of the world's most eminent water engineers, and worked on a number of other water supply schemes in Britain, Europe and Asia. He was assisted by James Morrison Gale (1830-1905), who on the completion of the initial scheme in 1859 was appointed Water Engineer for the City of Glasgow, a post he held till 1902. Gale was responsible for over-seeing the incremental expansion of the first scheme during the 1860s and '70s and the building of the second aqueduct from 1885 onwards.

Listed following the thematic review of Loch Katrine water supply system in 2008.

References

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