Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders
Date 2007
Event ID 590580
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/590580
This impressive structure, the most elegant gas holder in Scotland in terms of its external framing, was erected as part of a £450 000 state-of-the-art coal gasworks for Edinburgh and Leith Corporations at Granton from 1898 to 1903 under the direction of their engineer, W. R. Herring. The main contractor was Graham, Morton & Co., Leeds.
The gasholder, now no longer operational, had a maximum capacity of 7 000 000 cu ft and is constructed on the telescopic principle with four lifts. The masonry tank, within which the holder moved up and down, is 252 ft 6 in. diameter by 37 ft deep. It is constructed of brick in cement mortar encased in a puddle bed and was built by Clayton, Sons & Co. Ltd, Leeds.
The associated buildings, including the huge retort house from which the gasholder was fed, have been demolished and the site, which is undergoing redevelopment, includes the new headquarters of Scottish Gas. The possibility of retaining the gas holder within the redevelopment as an outstanding example of Scotland’s industrial heritage is under consideration.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
