Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

GALLOWAY HYDROELECTRIC POWER SCHEME, KENDOON SOUTH DAMLB51692

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
C
Date Added
11/02/2011
Local Authority
Dumfries And Galloway
Planning Authority
Dumfries And Galloway
Parish
Carsphairn
NGR
NX 61317 89312
Coordinates
261317, 589312

Description

James Williamson with Sir Alexander Gibb consulting engineers; Merz and McLellan, electrical engineers; 1936. Long shallow v-section concrete arch and gravity dam with single control tower to centre and elevated roadway to crest on piers over fixed spillway to right (E) and ensuite with stepped eaves course to left (W). Concrete parapet to roadway, with larger piers to terminal bays forming buttress to downstream (S) face and curved wave-wall to base of dam. Control tower spanning walkway with chamfered upper corners tall narrow round headed opening to base with single rounded headed window above, metal covering to doorway (2009).

Statement of Special Interest

Kendoon South dam is an important component of phase II of the highly influential Galloway scheme, providing water storage capacity for Kendoon Power station (see separate listing). The curved plan form of the dam is part of a striking modern design and is echoed in the curved top to the spillway and sweeping curves of wave-walls. The modern appearance of the dam clearly ties it stylistically and functionally to the power station at Kendoon (see separate listing). The design is a clear synthesis between functional and aesthetic concerns and is characteristic of the view of hydroelectricity in this period as a modern and dynamic industry.

The development of the Galloway Hydroelectric Scheme predates the 1943 Hydroelectric (Scotland) Act which formalised the development of Hydroelectricity in Scotland and led to the founding of the North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board. Those developments which predated the 1943 act were developed by individual companies as a response to particular market and topographic conditions. The completion of a number of schemes (including Galloway, Grampian and those associated with Alcan ' see separate listings) without a national strategic policy framework is groundbreaking as is the consistency of high quality aesthetic and engineering design across all of the schemes.

The Galloway scheme was influential on the future development of hydropower in Scotland. After initial opposition to the parliamentary act granting powers for the completion of the scheme it was approved with a number of safeguards on the landscape and amenity of the area. This necessitated the high quality design of both power stations and dams which characterises the Galloway scheme. This condition also proved influential during the drafting of the Hydroelectric Development (Scotland) Act of 1943 where the visual impact of future schemes was a primary concern.

Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners was a pioneering engineering company, responsible for a number of high profile works in Scotland, including the Kincardine Bridge (see separate listing). The company was founded by Alexander Gibb in 1921 and quickly became the UK's largest firm of consulting engineers with numerous international clients. Gibb was personally involved in the design and construction of the Galloway scheme, and the pioneering nature of the Galloway development is due, in large part, to his abilities as an engineer. Merz and McLellan were pioneering British electrical engineers and developed a high profile practice, working on a number of power stations across Britain, including Dunstan B, as well as completing hydroelectric work in Italy in the 1980s.

(Listed 2011 as part of Hydroelectric Power Thematic Survey)

References

Bibliography

Peter Payne, The Hydro: a study of the development of the major hydro-electric schemes undertaken by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board, 1988, p. 25; Emma Wood, The Hydro Boys ,2002, p. 51; Anon The Galloway hydro-electric development, Reprint of papers presented to the Institution of Civil Engineers, 22 February 1938; George Hill, Tunnel and Dam; The Story of the Galloway Hydros, 1984.

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 06:40