Description

James and Alexander Leslie, 1879. Reservoir built to serve Edinburgh, Leith, Portobello and Dalkeith.

DAM, REVETMENTS, WEIR AND GANGWAY: squared and snecked pink sandstone; slightly battered retaining wall, stugged with semi circular coping. Platform to S of dam with ironwork whipple gangway leading to ashlar upstand shaft. Curved weir to E of dam crossed by plate girder bridge. Pier and slipway to W of dam. Sharply curved weir at foot of embankment to N.

MEASURING HOUSE: to N of dam, adjacent to weir at foot of embankment. Single storey, stugged with droved dressings; raised margins; strip quoins.

E Elevation: 3 bay; doorway to centre with simple pediment; boarded timber door; window to each flanking bay.

N Elevation: opening to centre with boarded timber shutter; louvred bull?s eye opening set in gablehead.

W Elevation: 3 bay; regular fenestration.

S Elevation: window to centre; louvred bull?s eye opening set in gablehead.

3 pane lying pane windows. Grey slate roof with lead ridge; coped stone skews; cast iron rainwater goods.

Interior: not seen 1998.

TWEEDALEBURN AQUEDUCT: emerges from tall semi circular arched opening to SW of reservoir; coursed bull faced pink sandstone with stugged rusticated archring with keystone; stugged bull faced coping. Coursed, steep sided channel enters reservoir on west side; aqueduct passes under flat segmental arched bull faced bridge with stugged rusticated coping and archring; inside parapet stugged; slightly splayed wing walls.

BRIDGE OVER CROSSLEE BURN: small round arched bridge; bull faced sandstone to outer walls, squared and snecked below parapet; stugged to inner walls; semi circular stugged coping; splayed wing walls.

Statement of Interest

Described as ". . . a beautiful lake with small islands here and there . . . the beauty of the scenery was all the more enhanced [by] the surrounding hills casting their dark shadow across the still water" (J Colston, p194). The huge embankment, designed for the Edinburgh and District Water Trust to contain up to 1700 million gallons, was at the time an exceptional piece of engineering. By damming the River South Esk the reservoir increased the water supply available to the people of Edinburgh by 39 gallons per person. Its fine design extended to the baronial style caretaker's house, Gladhouse Villa (see separate listing).

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Gladhouse Reservoir at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q5566250

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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