Kendoon Surge Tower, Galloway Hydroelectric Power Scheme

Heritage listing

Category C Date Added 11/02/2011 Local Authority Dumfries And Galloway Planning Authority Dumfries And Galloway Parish Dalry (Dumf & Galloway) NGR NX 60716 87930 Coordinates 260716, 587930 — Sir Alexander Gibb consulting engineers; Merz and McLellan, electrical engineers, 1936. Tall cylindrical steel surge tower. Riveted plate steel with advanced eaves course. Integrated with 2 large pipes to base. — The Kendoon surge tower is an iconic feature in the landscape and relatively unusual amongst a building type which is predominantly subterranean or semi-subterranean. The surge tower protects the integrated penstocks from sudden surges of water, which, instead of bursting the pipes or damaging turbines is accommodated by the hollow interior of the tower. In extreme floods the water could overtop the tower. The surge tower makes a significant contribution to the landscape from a prominent site on an area of sloping ground surrounded by a wide bowl of hills. The striking cylindrical feature is a bold statement set against a natural backdrop of mature woodland. The bold form is characteristic of the dynamic modern view which was taken of hydroelectricity during this period. 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 aes

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.