John Frederick Bateman Memorial

John Frederick Bateman was an important civil engineer who designed the Loch Katrine aqueduct system that provided Glasgow with a fresh water supply in an effort to eradicate typhoid and cholera.

After visiting the James M Gale Memorial Fountain at the other side of the dam, we strolled over to see the memorial for the brainchild of the scheme.

In 1810, John Frederick Bateman was born in Wyke, near Bradford. After being educated at the Moravian schools in Lancashire and Derbyshire, he became an apprentice for a surveyor and mining engineer in Oldham.

Bateman started his civil engineering business in 1833, and by the mid 1840's he was devising a scheme that would supply fresh water to Manchester and Salford. The design involved a chain of reservoirs in Longdendale, which used the force of gravity to move the water that had been caught from the Pennines. The project commenced in 1848 and was completed in 1877. When the scheme required expansion, Bateman returned and procured further water from Thirlmere in the Lake District.

So why does the great civil engineer have a memorial stone here?

In the mid 1850's, Bateman was consulted by Glasgow Council to find a solution to provide the city with a fresh water supply. Bateman, using his tried and test use of gravity rather than pumps, designed a scheme that would take water from over 34 miles away. Using an aqueduct the water flowed from Loch Katrine to the newly created Mugdock Reservoir. From there, a further aqueduct would take the water to Glasgow.

The scheme was approved and the work commenced in the spring of 1855 and was completed 1859.

In the mid 1880's, Bateman returned to Glasgow, when the scheme required expansion. The Craigmaddie Reservoir was created next to Mugdock Reservoir, the water level was increased in Loch Katrine, Loch Arklet was converted into a reservoir and a duplicate aqueduct was created to transport the additional water.

Unfortunately, Bateman did not live long enough to see the expansion work complete.

John Frederick Bateman also worked on water supply schemes for Belfast, Bolton, Chester, Dublin, Newcastle upon Tyne, Oldham, Perth, Stockport and Wolverhampton and many others. He was also involved with projects further afield, in places such as Buenos Aires, Naples, Constantinople, Spain and Majorca and Colombo.

He was also the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers for a period. He was fellow of many Societies/Institutions and published several papers on the subject of water supplies.

He died at his home in Farnham, Surrey in June 1889, before the Glasgow waterworks expansion project was complete.

The Institution of Civil Engineers placed the commemoration stone here in November 2005.

Another tribute to Bateman can be found in the deepest air shaft of the Mottram Tunnel. The plaque is inscribed.

John Frederick La Trobe Bateman

(1810-1889)

Pioneer - Water Engineer extraordinaire

Brought water to the taps of Tameside and Manchester by constructing the six mile

long chain of Longendale Reservoirs from 1848.

At the time these became the largest reservoirs constructed in the world and

Europe's first major conservation scheme.

Completed in 1877, these waters have never run dry.

What a fantastic legacy John Frederick Bateman has provided.

Follow the above route, or find on OS Maps.