Bridge, Earlston Hydro-Electric Power Station

Earlston Power Station

Built in 1936 as part of the Galloway Water Power Scheme, this is a significant example of a hydroelectric power station designed by the consulting engineer Sir Alexander Gibb, with electrical engineering by Merz and McLellan, and civil engineering by E M Carmichael of the Office of Public Works.

The building is a symmetrical two-storey, six-bay rectangular-plan Classical Modern structure constructed in painted reinforced concrete. A lower terminal bay projects to the northeast. The façade is articulated by full-height pilasters with a recessed parapet above. A slightly advanced door surround features a large vehicular opening with a steel shutter. An inscription runs above the entrance: "THE GALLOWAY WATER POWER SCHEME, EARLSTOUN POWER STATION, 1936". Large full-height rectangular multi-pane windows in metal frames punctuate the main elevation, with regular fenestration to the lower block and pedestrian doors at ground-floor level. The flat platform roof behind the parapet incorporates integrated cast-iron rainwater goods.

Inside, the station contains a large roller crane on steel girders supported by corniced concrete piers, with engineered steel roof trusses spanning the interior.

The Galloway scheme represents a pioneering technological achievement and was the first large-scale application of run-of-the-river hydropower technology in Scotland. Water from the nearby Earlstoun reservoir is conducted by aqueduct to penstocks behind the station, which feed two turbines. The station's architectural design exemplifies the understated Modernist aesthetic characteristic of 1930s industrial architecture, with clean lines and minimal articulation reflecting the period's optimistic view of hydroelectricity. The scheme was developed before the 1943 Hydroelectric (Scotland) Act and was subject to landscape safeguards imposed during parliamentary approval, necessitating the high-quality design evident in both power stations and associated infrastructure. The scheme proved influential on subsequent Scottish hydroelectric development and the framing of national policy. The power station is prominently sited adjacent to the A762 road and the B-listed Allangibbon Bridge.