Dalkeith, Cemetery Road, Water Tower
Water Tower (18th Century)
Site Name Dalkeith, Cemetery Road, Water Tower
Classification Water Tower (18th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Eskbank Road
Canmore ID 114867
Site Number NT36NW 160
NGR NT 32745 66996
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/114867
- Council Midlothian
- Parish Dalkeith
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District Midlothian
- Former County Midlothian
NT36NW 160 32745 66996
Location formerly cited as NT 328 670.
(Location cited as NT 327 671). Water tower, built 1897. An octagonal brick tower, with a louvered wooden top.
J R Hume 1976.
Water tower, Eskbank Road. Polychrome, brick, octagonal, with lucarned tank-house.
C E McWilliam 1978.
An octagonal polychrome brick water tower constructed in 1879 for the Dalkeith town council by James Leslie, Engineer of the Edinburgh Water Company. It was converted into a dwelling in the mid-1980s, and by the time of the RCAHMS photographic survey in 2001, had been adapted to accommodate 'The Water Tower Restaurant' by award-winning chef, Gerry Goldwyre.
Information from RCAHMS (MKO), 2001.
This structure is depicted, but not noted, on the current OS (GIS) AIB.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 26 April 2006.
Construction (1879)
Built by Town Council. Engineers for the project were Leslie & Reid, Edinburgh. Tower by James Thornburn
& Sons, Dalkeith.
Publication Account (1998)
One of the first actions of Dalkeith town council, founded in 1878, was to come to terms with the town's ongoing problem of inadequate supply of clean water. A year later, the pagoda-style tower was erected to hold the supply for Eskbank. By this time, the town had expanded westwards along Eskbank Road, as may still be appreciated by the number of nineteenth-century villas still standing in this area.
Information from ‘Historic Dalkeith: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1998).
Project (2007)
This project was undertaken to input site information listed in 'Civil engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' by R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Publication Account (2007)
This tower was built in 1879 by the Town Council as part of an improved water supply to Dalkeith. The engineers for the project, including the tower, were Leslie & Reid, Edinburgh. The 70 ft high tower, built by James Thornburn & Sons, Dalkeith, is constructed of polychrome brickwork with stone facings and is octagonal shape in plan. It is surmounted by a wrought-iron water tank 16 ft diameter and 18 ft deep made by Hanna, Donald and Wilson located within a timber-slatted top storey. In the 1930s the tower became obsolete owing to further improvements in Dalkeith’s water supply. In 1989 the tower was converted to a domestic residence.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
