Description

James Williamson with Sir Alexander Gibb consulting engineers; Merz and McLellan, electrical engineers; John Howard and Co. construction engineers; 1934; later additions including screens. Curved-section dam of multiple radius; both arched and gravity sections. Concrete panels with concrete copes above cornice. Single control tower to left (W) on corbel brackets in downstream face (S) with round arched opening and single round arched window above. Large free roller gates to right (E) of centre with chamfered square-plan control tower above. Curved section buttresses between gates. Fish-ladder composed of sequential concrete pools. Fixed spillway to far right in gravity section with concrete wave walls to either side and shoulder-arched walkway above.

Statement of Interest

Tongland dam is a significant example of a mixed section dam of both gravity and arch type and is an important component of the highly influential Galloway scheme, providing water to Tongland Power station (see separate listing). The dam is sited on a gorge in the River Dee and provides storage and regulation of flow for Tongland Power station which lies downstream. The dam retains a number of original fittings relatively unaltered, including the flow gates and control tower. Later additions, including screens to the outlet have not altered the character of the dam. The Galloway scheme was a significant technological achievement and the first example of run of the river technology to be successfully utilised on a large scale in Scotland.

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 (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)

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17807357

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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