Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Two large, circular-plan, reinforced-concrete water towers of similar design but contrasting height. Prominently located, adjacent to one another, on high ground in a suburban housing setting to the east side of Glasgow.

GARTHAMLOCK WATER TOWER: design by Frank A Macdonald and Partners for Glasgow Corporation, 1953-56. Built by Holst and Company Ltd, 1956-58. 24 laterally unsupported cylindrical columns, 100ft in height. 23ft cylindrical tank with 7 equally spaced band courses. 1 million gallon capacity. Hexagonal-plan central access column with moulded margins to openings (currently infilled, 2012). Metal door to ground and internal metal stairs rising to roof-top.

CRAIGEND WATER TOWER: Lower Clyde Water Board, c.1966. 12 fin-like supporting columns 40ft in height and tapering toward ground. Cylindrical tank with 4 equally spaced band courses; regularly disposed rectangular insets to lower course. Panelled, dodecagonal (12-sided) central column. Metal access door to ground; internal stair rising to roof-top.

Statement of Special Interest

The Garthamlock and Craigend water towers are key examples from the unrivalled programme of reinforced concrete water tower construction in Glasgow and its environs during the 1950s and 60s. The size, design and engineering interest of these two towers reflect the wider aspirations of the post-war building period in Scotland.

The Garthamlock tower has the largest capacity tank in the UK, designed to hold one million gallons of water. The narrow unsupported cylindrical columns are 100ft high, which is exceptional for its date. It is the tallest water tower in Scotland. Visible from the M8 and numerous vantage points across the east side of the city, it and Craigend are one of Glasgow's most conspicuous landmarks of the post-war building period.

The two reinforced concrete towers share a site on high ground within a suburban housing setting. The suburban housing context of the two towers is appropriate and helps illustrate their purpose within the urban landscape, and their place within Glasgow's massive suburban post-war expansion. They are part of the change from pre-war tenement living to the new suburbs, and the infrastructure needed to accommodate the change.

The need to build on high ground (using gravity to increase tap pressure to homes) and awareness that the towers would be a landmark resulted in functional designs that were also futuristic and aspirational. The designs of the towers embrace the engineering possibilities of the period and the idealism of much early post-war architecture. The narrow unsupported cylindrical columns of the Garthamlock tower feature mushrooming heads, while the Craigend tank has tapering, fin-like columns. The similarities and variations, both in scale and detail, add to their combined group interest.

F A MacDonald and Partners (Est. 1902) were among the most accomplished and innovative engineering firms working in Scotland throughout the 20th century. They provided many major infrastructure projects including bridges, hydro schemes, motorways, housing schemes including nurmerous works for the Glasgow Corporation. Holst & Company were founded in London in 1918 by Danish Civil Engineer, Knud Holst and Christian Lunoe. The company specialised in the design and construction of structural reinforced concrete across the UK.

The water level of the Garthamlock tower at its highest point is 486ft above sea-level with a water depth of nearly 23ft. Water is sourced from Loch Katrine. Telecommunications and CCTV equipment is well-established on top of the Garthamlock tower.

Other water towers in Scotland include: one of the earliest cast-iron water tanks in the world (1832, Perth); the earliest surviving municipal water tower in the UK (1841, Montrose); and the earliest known reinforced-concrete water tower in the UK (1899, Garmouth) - see separate listings.

References

Bibliography

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.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.