Gartmorn Dam | |
---|---|
Location | Clackmannanshire |
Coordinates | 56°07′43″N3°44′21″W / 56.1285°N 3.7393°W Coordinates: 56°07′43″N3°44′21″W / 56.1285°N 3.7393°W |
Type | Reservoir |
Basin countries | Scotland |
Construction engineer | George Sorocold |
First flooded | 1712 |
Gartmorn Dam is an artificial freshwater lake north-east of Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, UK, built in 1711-12 as a reservoir to supply water to hydraulic machines used in Alloa's mining industry. It was commissioned by John Erskine, 23rd and 6th Earl of Mar, to designs by George Sorocold, and is one of the earliest constructed reservoirs in Scotland.
Gartmorn Dam was commissioned by John, Earl of Mar, a Scottish noble and estate owner, who had received training in drawing and architectural design, and was said to be 'infected with the desease of building'. [1] Its purpose was to provide a sufficient head and volume of water to drive mining pumps supporting the extractive industry of Alloa. [2]
The dam, lake and associated waterworks were designed by and built, from 1711 to 1712, by English civil engineer George Sorocold. [3] Sorocold caused the construction of a weir on the Black Devon waterway at Forestmill, raising its waters by 16 foot (4.9 m), and a lade to carry water about 2 miles (3.2 km) westward to Gartmorn, where it was impounded by an earth dike. The lake formed has a surface of about 160 acres (65 ha), reaches a maximum depth of 37 feet (11 m) deep, [nb 1] and it situated about 160 foot (49 m) above the level of the River Forth, and 92 foot (28 m) above Alloa. It is considered the earliest constructed reservoir in Scotland, and was for many years the largest artificial lake in Scotland. [2]
The reservoir's dam, some 320 yards (290 m) in length, was reconstructed in hewn stone in 1785 at a cost of several thousand pounds; and extensive repairs were made in 1827, to avert concerns that the structure might fail and inundate the lower parts of the town. [2]
In contemporary times, Gartmorn Dam is used for leisure activities. The weir and lade remain in good condition. In 2013, Scottish Water spent £440,000 to maintain the dam headwall and improve emergency water level reduction systems. [4]
Clackmannanshire is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the historic counties of Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Fife.
Alloa is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to be the River Forth and becomes the Firth of Forth. Alloa is south of the Ochil Hills, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Stirling and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north of Falkirk; by water Alloa is 25 miles (40 km) from Granton.
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Alloa Tower in Alloa, Clackmannanshire in central Scotland is an early 14th century tower house that served as the medieval residence of the Erskine family, later Earls of Mar. Retaining its original timber roof and battlements, the tower is one of the earliest, and largest, of Scottish tower houses, with immensely thick walls. It was designated as a scheduled monument in 1960 and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.
George Sorocold was an English civil engineer of the eighteenth century notable for pioneering work on water supplies and hydraulic power systems around Great Britain.
Clan Erskine is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
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Robert Bald FRSE FSA MWS (1776–1861) was a Scottish surveyor, civil and mining engineer, and antiquarian. He was born in Culross, Scotland, the son of Alexander Bald (1753–1823), a colliery agent of Alloa. Robert Bald was one of the earliest and most eminent mining engineers and land surveyors in Scotland, and by the late nineteenth century he was referred to as "the acknowledged father of mining engineering in Scotland". His brother was Alexander Bald, poet and friend of James Hogg.
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Events from the year 1711 in Scotland.
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