Hydraulic Power Station, Alexandra Dry Dock, Leith Docks, Edinburgh is a Grade B listed building in the City of Edinburgh local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 12 December 1974. Hydraulic station.

Hydraulic Power Station, Alexandra Dry Dock, Leith Docks, Edinburgh

WRENN ID
late-tower-frost
Grade
B
Local Planning Authority
City of Edinburgh
Constituency
Edinburgh North and Leith MP: Tracy Gilbert (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
12 December 1974
Type
Hydraulic station
OS grid reference
NT 271 768
Coordinates
55.97908, -3.16964
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Hydraulic Power Station at Alexandra Dry Dock in Leith Docks, Edinburgh, was designed by Peter Whyte, a consultant engineer from A M Rendel, and dates back to 1896. This small, single-storey hydraulic station is constructed from red sandstone, featuring squared and snecked rubble with ashlar dressings. It has a base course, round-arched openings, and an eaves band course.

The west elevation is gabled and includes lugged skewputts, with three windows—two of which have been altered into rectangular openings—divided by pilaster strips. The gablehead displays the date and a cheque pattern made from pilaster strips.

On the northeast elevation, there are three bays with a central doorway topped by a semi-circular radial fanlight. To the right, there are three single windows, while to the left, a bipartite window is framed by pilaster strips and features a pedimented gable.

The southwest elevation mirrors the northeast elevation but includes a modern extension to the left of center. The west elevation is also gabled but is blank.

The building features small-pane timber windows with semi-circular radial heads and is topped with a slate roof. Moulded eaves gutters complete the design.

Local climate

Hydraulic Power Station, Alexandra Dry Dock, Leith Docks, Edinburgh sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 53% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 25 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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