C20 Society has supported the proposed listing of Cranhill Water Tower in Glasgow by Historic Environment Scotland at Category B, following an application by Paul Sweeney MSP.

Located at the eastern edge of Cranhill housing estate in the East End of Glasgow, the 25m high Brutalist water tower was built in 1951 and designed by Frank A Macdonald and Partners for Glasgow Corporation. It has a striking design with 16 sleek mushroom-top steel columns supporting a ribbed, square concrete water tank and its design reflects the idealism of much early post-war architecture.

Water towers were an essential functional component of residential estates to adequately supply water pressure to all the homes. Cranhill is the earliest known post-war water tower to survive in Glasgow and is a major example from the unrivalled programme of reinforced concrete water tower construction in Glasgow and its environs during the 1950s and 60s.

The need to build on high ground and the awareness that these towers would be landmarks resulted in industrial designs that were also futuristic and aspirational. The water tower at Cranhill is a prominent structure in the landscape which has a distinctive, modern ‘space age’ appearance.

The water tower was refurbished and floodlighting installed in 1998. Cranhill Development Trust and local housing associations commissioned The Neptune Project by sculptor, Andy Scott in 2000. The figures are based on the theme of water and include Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, and the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon.

The interest of the designer in relation to the structure’s design is of particular significance. F A Macdonald and Partners (now known as Fairhurst) established in Glasgow in 1902 are recognised among Scotland’s foremost structural engineering practices. They specialised in reinforced concrete constructions and provided many major infrastructure projects including bridges, hydro schemes, motorways, housing
schemes including numerous works for the Glasgow Corporation.