top of page
PB the Cairn
Lochwinnoch
The purpose of the site is to help those new to the village to connect with its past and for those who have left for pastures new to remember what was left behind
The Black Dam
Black Dam in foreground, Calderbank Mill in background.
The Black dam was so named because of the very dark appearance of the water. The sluice that controlled the outflow of water can be seen on the far bank.
Inflow channel for Black Dam 1
View from above of the inflow channel for water from the river Calder to the Black dam
Inflow channel for Black Dam 2
Inflow channel for Black Dam viewed from river level
Black Dam
The Black dam now contains very little water because the inflow channel is partially filled raising its level above the river except when its in spate. Furthermore the impounded area is silted up to a very large degree leaving little volume for water.
Black Dam
The Black dam now contains very little water because the inflow channel is partially filled raising its level above the river except when its in spate. Furthermore the impounded area is silted up to a very large degree leaving little volume for water.
Black Dam Island
The 1856 map on the right identifies features we are familiar with today in particular the Black Dam. The arrow pointing to the 1808 map shows the Black Dam location at that time. In fact it did not exist in 1808 and in the location where it will be you can see the river splits in two and creates an island at this point in the river. The Black Dam is created by building an embankment to prevent the water rejoining the main stream. This provides storage capacity for times of low river flow. Control of the water back into the Calder is achieved via a sluice gate built into the embankment. This sluice is visible in the first photograph of this gallery.
Black Dam Embankment
The Black dam was formed by damming one leg of a split in the river preventing that water from re-joining the river. The Calder can be seen on the right of the photograph. The stone embankment retaining the water can be seen in this photograph.
Black Dam Embankment.
The stonework of the embankment is becoming dislodged in places. There is little danger to the integrity of the embankment. Even if there was a plausible risk of the embankment failing there is so little water in the dam it would not pose a flood risk.
Black Dam Embankment
This photograph of the embankment was taken from the bank of the river which was some 20ft below the top of the embankment.
Black Dam Embankment
On the right hand side of the photograph there are stones that look like they form a path. This is the top of the embankment and is the location where the sluice to control the outflow was located.
Black Dam Embankment
This section of the embankment contains the outflow from the sluice which is discharging a small quantity of water. The sluice gate is long gone and the channel through the embankment has become quite restricted with debris. This will result in water overflowing the embankment when the river is in spate leading to the deterioration that is evident in the embankment.
bottom of page