Description

William Halcrow consulting engineer; Balfour Beatty engineers and contractors, 1931-33. 4-bay, single storey and attic rectangular-plan valve-house in simple classical style with large arcaded arched windows at ground floor. Painted render. Full height pilasters of coursed rubble; band course at attic. Corniced eaves course with blocking course to corners. Deep ground floor with arcaded round arched multi-pane windows. Small rectangular multi-pane windows in recessed surrounds to attic. Large deeply recessed doorway to centre flanked by plain fielded panels. To E elevation. W elevation with single round arched window to centre.

Predominantly small multi-pane glazing in cast-iron frames. Cast-iron rainwater goods integrated with cornice.

INTERIOR: plain interior with roller crane off steel gantry.

Statement of Interest

Rannoch valve-house forms an A-Group with the nearby Rannoch Power station (see separate listing). The valve-house at Rannoch is an outstanding example of the use of hydropower for public supply and is sited prominently above Loch Rannoch. The design of the valve-house is in a plain classical style with a bold outline, demonstrating clearly the idea of modernity and progress which characterised the development of hydroelectricity in this period. The uncluttered roofline gives the building a stark and dominating profile. The valve house exhibits a unified architectural treatment with the powerhouse (see separate listing) clearly tying it in both functional and stylistic terms to the powerhouse.

The Grampian Hydroelectric Scheme was the first major public supply development which utilised high head reservoir storage technology (as opposed to run of the river technology as employed at Galloway - see separate listings). The geography of the Tummel valley was well suited to the development of a hydroelectric scheme, but local demand for electricity was insufficient to justify its completion. The development of the national grid in the mid 1920s meant that power generated in the Highlands could be exported to the populous central belt. The Central Electricity Board guaranteeing an assured market for the Grampian Power Company prompting further development. The relatively unforgiving terrain made construction difficult, and significant development of road infrastructure was required, including a new bridge at Tummel to allow access from the transportation of major pieces of structure from the nearest rail link at Struan.

The development of the Tummel and Rannoch 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 the British Aluminium Company) without a national strategic policy framework is groundbreaking as is the consistency of high quality aesthetic and engineering design across all of the schemes.

Sir William Halcrow was one of the foremost engineers of the twentieth century, and was highly experienced in the development of hydroelectricity having served his apprenticeship with Thomas Meik and Sons who were responsible for both Kinlochleven and Lochaber water power schemes on behalf of the British Aluminium Company (see separate listings). His work on the Grampian scheme came in between the Kinlochleven and Lochaber developments, and his experience in developing the Kinlochleven scheme can clearly be seen in the highly efficient pioneering nature of the Tummel Garry development. Halcrow's association with hydropower and water engineering was longstanding and after 1943 he went on to work on a number of projects for the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board including the Glen Affric and Glen Morriston schemes. The company also completed work elsewhere in the UK and overseas.

(Listed 2011 as part of Hydro Electric Power Thematic Survey)

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17842229

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.

Recommended Books

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  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  For the Record
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)