The Pipe Bridge, Glasgow. Constructed 1895-1901 and opened on 18 December 1901 (Hume 219), this river crossing is just upstream from the Albert Bridge. It carries water across the River Clyde into Glasgow, in two large pipes, between Hutchesontown and Glasgow Green. Seen below it is an interesting piece of engineering — a movable weir with three sluice gates. At the upper tidal limit of the river, these allowed the river to be kept at a suitable depth for boats, and could be raised to allow boats to pass under them when the tide was full. Various engineers and suppliers were involved in the original, complex project: "Ransomes and Rapier had supplied the original equipment in 1896-1901. The Engineer was A B McDonald (City Engineer), with Sir Benjamin Baker as consultant. The gates themselves were designed by Francis Goold Morony Stoney" ("Glasgow Tidal Weir"). The steelwork had to be replaced in 1949, but the masonry was reused. "Today the primary purpose of the weir is to maintain the upstream water levels for environmental and leisure purposes" ("Glasgow's Clyde Bridges").
Photograph by Colin Price, with commentary and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use the image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or to the Victorian Web in a print document. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Bibliography
"Glasgow's Clyde Bridges." A useful Heritage Trail leaflet produced by the Institution of Civil Engineers with support from Glasgow City Council, n.d.
"Glasgow, Glasgow Green, Tidal Weir". Canmore. Web. 9 September 2019.
"Glasgow Tidal Weir". Grace's Guide. Web. 9 September 2019.
Hume, J. R. The Industrial Archeology of Glasgow. Glasgow and London: Blackie, 1974.
Williamson, Elizabeth, Ann Riches and Macolm Higgs. Glasgow. The Buildings of Scotland series. London: Penguin, 1990.
Created 9 September 2019