Bridge, Glenlee Power Station

Glenlee Power Station is a three-storey reinforced concrete power station completed in 1934, designed by Sir Alexander Gibb (consulting engineer), Merz and McLellan (electrical engineers), and E M Carmichael of the Office of Public Works. Built in Classical Modern style, the building presents a rectangular plan of approximately four bays with a prominent gridded arrangement of small-pane windows in painted reinforced concrete. The façade is characterised by recessed eaves and a further recessed parapet above. A lugged doorway surround to the front is inscribed above with "GLENLEE POWER STATION 1934".

The fenestration follows a regular pattern: tripartite small-pane windows in recessed surrounds occupy the centre bays, with single bay returns and bipartite windows to the flanking bays. The rear (west) elevation features regular fenestration of small-pane rectangular windows in its lower block, with a large off-centre doorway fitted with a timber panelled roller door.

The interior is predominantly a single open space containing a large roller crane mounted on a steel gantry. Offices are located to the left (south-east), including later alterations made to form a control room for the Galloway Scheme.

A reinforced concrete twin-arched bridge spans the tailrace, fitted with a plain concrete parapet.

Glenlee Power Station was a significant component of Phase I of the influential Galloway Hydropower Scheme. The station utilises water from a separate catchment created by Clatteringshaws Dam before feeding it back into Loch Ken and onwards to Tongland. The Galloway scheme represented a major technological achievement as the first successful large-scale application of run-of-the-river technology in Scotland.

The architectural design represents a fusion of engineering requirements and understated modernist classical principles. Clean lines and minimal articulation characterise the modern style, whilst the stark roofline and rhythmic façade articulation reflect the dynamic attitude with which hydroelectricity was viewed during this period.

The Galloway scheme predates the 1943 Hydroelectric (Scotland) Act, which formalised hydroelectric development in Scotland. As a private venture undertaken in response to particular market and topographic conditions, its completion without a national strategic policy framework was groundbreaking, as was the consistency of high-quality aesthetic and engineering design throughout. The scheme proved influential in subsequent hydroelectric development; parliamentary approval was initially contested but granted subject to safeguards on landscape and amenity, necessitating the high-quality design of both power stations and dams. These conditions subsequently influenced the drafting of the 1943 Act, where visual impact became a primary concern.

Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners, founded in 1921, became the UK's largest consulting engineering firm with numerous international clients. Gibb's personal involvement in the design and construction of the Galloway scheme was instrumental to its pioneering nature. Merz and McLellan, pioneering British electrical engineers, worked on numerous power stations across Britain and completed hydroelectric works internationally.