South Valve House

South valve house: Hugh Baird, engineer, circa 1820; north valve house: James Jardine, engineer, James Horne, surveyor, 1842-9. Pair of almost identical simple rectangular-plan valve houses, the south one known as the winter house and the north one known as the summer house. Both are components of the Union Canal feeder system, each positioned above a watercourse tunnel, on falling ground below the level of Cobbinshaw Reservoir from which water was taken to feed the Bog Burn and a succession of other streams before flowing into the River Almond and thence to the Union Canal. Long and short quoins. Stugged squared rubble ashlar to north house and droved ashlar to south. Timber doors with ventilation grills.

Barrel vaulted interiors. Cast-iron machinery for opening and closing valves in interior.

Pitched roofs rendered with non-traditional material.

Watercourse to east of valve houses cobbled with ashlar walls and slab copes.