Including Spillway Towers And Weir, Vaich Dam, Conon Valley Hydro Electric Scheme, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, Highland

Description

Williamson and Partners (engineers for North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board technical panel), 1957. Large turfed rubble dam with control tower to left (W) and 2 large spill towers near to upstream face. Mass rubble fill to downstream face with turf over; coursed random rubble to upstream face; concrete piers and walls to spill towers. Battered downstream face with concrete parapet to top. Additional concrete weirs and lined spillway channel adjacent to downstream face.

CONTROL TOWER: tall rectangular-plan control tower to centre of dam with deep single storey section visible above dam wall, housing control gate for dam dispersal valve. Reinforced concrete with band courses and banded eaves course. Large vehicular access doorway to S with single window above. Irregular fenestration elsewhere with small pane glazing in metal surrounds.

SPILL TOWERS: large circular spillway towers composed of concrete piers and lintels to open upper section, with later metal trash guards. Tapered concrete sidewalls below (often partially or wholly submerged).

Statement of Interest

Vaich Dam is an excellent example of the innovation in dam design in response to local conditions and materials by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB) during their development of hydro electric schemes in the Highlands. It provides key storage capacity for Conon Valley hydro electric scheme, which is one of the major post-war hydro electric developments by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB). The dam is technically unusual, constructed predominantly from rubble fill, either side of a vertical concrete wall which is waterproof. As a consequence the dam cannot spill in the conventional manner as this would erode the downstream face, so large spill towers have been constructed adjacent to the upstream face, acting like large drains to allow water to spill into them and exit to the downstream side of the dam when water levels are high. The use of rubble fill instead of mass concrete saved a significant outlay in both time and money during the construction of the dam, which was consequently able to use tunnel spoil from the nearby shaft dug through to Glascarnoch Dam (see separate listing) for the bulk of construction.

Conon Valley was one of a large number of schemes developed in Scotland by the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board (NoSHEB), formed after 1943 as a nationalised body to oversee the development of Scotland's resources for water power. The scheme played a key role in the realisation of the social agenda of NoSHEB by providing power to a remote community. Power generated on schemes in the southern Highlands, such as Tummel (see separate listings) was exported via the grid to the central belt, the profit from which subsidised the provision of power to remote north Highland communities and stimulated economic regeneration. Under the leadership of eminent chairman Sir Tom Johnston the board undertook developments throughout Highland Scotland and his aspirations saw the development of schemes in locations such as Loch Dubh near Ullapool and Storr Lochs on Skye. Johnstone's social aspirations and wider wishes to reinvigorate the economy of the Highlands ensured that schemes in remote areas formed a key part of the NoSHEB development plan.

All of the developments carried out by NoSHEB were subject to parliamentary approval and objections on the grounds of scenic amenity were common. In order to meet these objections the board appointed a panel of architectural advisers which included Reginald Fairlie (1883-1952), James Shearer (1881-1962) and Harold Ogle Tarbolton (1869-1947), appointed in 1943. Initially the role of the panel was to adjudicate on competition entries for designs, but by 1947 it had become one of designers. The panel had little control over the functional form of the buildings, as they left this to engineers, but they did influence the appearance and the style of the designs. The rigid views on the roles of engineers and architects during the design process resulted in the development of a style which can be characterised as vernacular modernism. This style is characteristic of many NoSHEB buildings and is a direct product of the strict role which engineers and architects played in the design process and of the increasing desire to harmonise buildings with the landscape.

The design of Vaich Dam is typical of Williamson and Partners approach, with an innovative solution designed specifically to suit the requirements of a particular site. Their design allowed for the use of local materials and minimised the need for concrete thus saving significant amounts of time and labour in building a concrete batching plant and bringing materials to site. Williamson was a prominent engineer who specialised in the design of dams following his work on the Galloway Hydro Electric scheme (see separate listings) in the 1930s. He acted as one of the chief engineering advisors to NoSHEB and was the lead engineer for a number of schemes. Following his death in 1953 Williamson and Partners continued in the role as engineering advisors to NoSHEB building on the expertise developed during their long association with the development of hydro power.

(Listed 2011 as part of Hydroelectric Power Thematic Survey)

External Links

Historic Environment Scotland Listing
Wikidata IDs Q77781990 Q77781994

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