Waulkmill Glen Reservoir: Regulating House, Newton Mearns

Single-storey, octagonal-plan building with round-arched doorway and stone-mullioned tripartite windows. Rusticated sandstone ashlar with pronounced quirky vermiculation and polished ashlar dressings. Base course; eaves band; projecting stone eaves. Entrance with roll-moulded margin and pronounced voussiors; tripartite windows with projecting cills to alternate elevations. Shallow piended roof with squat stone finial.

Part of Waulkmill Glen reservoir, the largest of the 3 reservoirs built as part of the first phase of the Gorbals Gravitation Water Company´s water supply scheme, constructed in 1847-8. This was one of the first large-scale water supply schemes in Scotland and, although eclipsed by the slightly later scheme from Loch Katrine, is nevertheless of considerable historical and engineering interest. Waulkmill Glen reservoir covers an area of nearly 48 acres and has a capacity of roughly 36.5 million cubic feet. Water originally fed into the reservoir from the Brock Burn, but this arrangement was altered with the building of the Balgray reservoir (as part of the expansion of the scheme) in 1853. Water is drawn out of the reservoir through the draw-off tower, and passed through the self-activating sluice (located on the other side of the embankment dam) before discharging into the two regulating basins. From there it flowed through pipes to the low filters, which were demolished 2007-8, but were located roughly 300 yards to the NE. (ref: Historic Scotland)

July 2010: External inspection finds the building appears to have been disused for some time. Plants are encroaching on th rear hald of the building, and on its roof, which is largely grassed over and home to a number of thriving saplings. There are damp patches and graffiti on the walls. Glasgow City Council and East Renfrewshire Councils are in the early stages of developing a new country park, Dams to Darnley. Part of the park covers the Barrhead Dams, a series of interconnected reservoirs, including Waulkmill, which is owned and managed by Scottish Water.

4 September 2014: External inspection finds the building remains in much the same condition as seen previously. The surrounding settling tanks are now protected by security fencing as the timber deck is rotting.

Glasgow City Council and Renfrewshire Council continue to work to improve access to and facilities within the country park. A City Deal agreement was signed Aug 2014 between the UK Government, the Scottish Government and Clyde Valley local authorities contributing £1.3 billion to infrastructure projects across the area, of which the country park forms part.

26 January 2015: East Renfrewshire Council is currently consulting on Proposed Supplementary Planning Guidance Dams to Darnley Country Park (Dec 2014). The Guidance seeks to identify the priority enhancements that the Council wishes to support in order for the Country Park to realise its full potential as a visitor and community facility. The guidance details enhancements based upon four themes one of which is the natural and built environment.