Scheduled Maintenance
Please be advised that this website will undergo scheduled maintenance on the following dates: •
Tuesday 3rd December 11:00-15:00
During these times, some services may be temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Glasgow, Skaethorn Road, Dawsholm Gasworks
Gas Works (19th Century) - (20th Century)
Site Name Glasgow, Skaethorn Road, Dawsholm Gasworks
Classification Gas Works (19th Century) - (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Maryhill; River Kelvin; Dawsholm Gas Works
Canmore ID 44130
Site Number NS56NE 64
NGR NS 56000 69200
NGR Description Centred NS 56000 69200
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/44130
- Council Glasgow, City Of
- Parish Glasgow (City Of Glasgow)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District City Of Glasgow
- Former County Lanarkshire
NS56NE 64.00 centred 56000 69200
Location formerly entered as NS 560 692.
NS56NE 64.01 NS 56181 69235 Sluice
NS56NE 64.02 NS 56187 69211 Sluice
For adjacent Garscube Chemical Works, see NS56NE 63.
For adjacent and associated railway bridge over the River Kelvin, see NS56NE 4893.
Dawsholm Gas Works [NAT] (centred NS 55920 69205 and NS 56050 69190)
Tank [NAT] (centred NS 56137 69244)
Tank [NAT] (centred NS 56152 69200)
Tank [NAT] (centred NS 55875 69195)
Tank [NAT] (centred NS 55928 69143)
OS 1:1250 maps, 1971 and 1976.
Dawsholm Gasworks, Skaethorn Road, built 1871-2 for Glasgow Corporation Gas Dept. (£160,000), and rebuilt 1892, 1896, 1912, 1918 and 1927. The remains of a large complex of buildings, the most striking of which was a red brick retort house, demolished c. 1968. The principal surviving structures are the one- and two-storey office block, and two rows of two-storey houses in Skaethorn Rd.
The plate girder railway bridge which linked the works with the Forth and Clyde Canal also survives.
See also: The Engineer, 33 (1872), 126, 161, 196.
J R Hume 1974.
The 'plate girder railway bridge' that is noted by Hume is presumably to be equated with NS56NE 4893.
Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 12 December 2005.
Publication Account (1949)
"Dawsholm and Temple. In 1871 the Dawsholm Works were commenced on ground acquired in...Maryhill. The first portion had a manufacturing capacity of 3 million cubic feet per day. In 1883 this was increased to 8 millions. In 1891 the adjoining works belonging to the Partick, Hillhead and Maryhill Gas Company, Limited, were acquired by the Cororation and re-named 'Temple Works'. They were afterwards connected with the Dawsholm Works by a tunnel (at NS55641 69043 to c. NS55710 69119) constructed under the Forth and Clyde Canal for railway communication and for gas mains.
In 1892 and 1896 additional retort houses containing horizontal retorts with the necessary plant were erected, increasing the total capacity of the works to 17 million cubic feet per day.
In 1911 part of the horizontal retort setting in the original retort house, being in need of heavy repairs, was taken down and replaced by an installation of 6 benches of vertical retorts, 144 retorts in all, desigend and patented by the then Engineer and General Manager Mr Wilson. These more than double the prdouctive capacity of the area occupied by the horizontal retorts displaced.
In 1926, 4 benches of horizontal retorts were demolished and 2 benches of continuous retorts and 2 benches of intermittent retorts were erected in their stead. The make of these new benches is 9 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Two three-lift gasholders were erected at Temple, one of 5.5 million cubic feet capacity and one of 4.5 million cubic feet capacity, making the total storage 10 million cubic feet.
Temple Works are now used only as storage and distributing station.
The combined area of the works is 42 acres. The total number of employees at these Works is 323.
Glasgow Corporation Gas Department, 1949
