Description

Approximately eight metres tall, cast-iron, former sewer ventilation pipe (stink pipe) sited on the south pavement of Hill Place against a stone wall and the raised ground of Castlehill Park. A wide, circular base section with narrower fluted section to lower third. There is a small connection section decorated with diamond and dot details and evidence of former mechanisms, such as a cleat tie off point to the south side and a crank hole to the north. There is a thinner, simple round section to the top two thirds which has a small circular ventilator at the top with vertical slots.

The stink pipe does not appear on any historical maps.

One of the first urban designed sewerage systems was installed in London in the 1860s to improve public health and it became instrumental in reducing cholera and bacterial diseases. As part of the design, sewage ventilation pipes, or "stink pipes", were installed to release pressure and vent off the noxious gases from underground sewers into the atmosphere. The pipes were very tall to ensure the gases emerged at a high enough level to be dispersed in the wind. They were typically made of cast iron and installed along main sewer lines where pipes crossed or changed direction.

They were often decorative, possibly to disguise their use, but also as a demonstration of civic pride. After the Public Health (Scotland) Act of 1867 local authorities were enabled to develop the construction of sewer systems across the country to improve the life and health of the urban population. The sewerage system in Ardrossan is likely to date to after that time.

An article in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald on 14th November 1902 noted that the residents of Hill Place had written to the Town Council to complain of the pollution of unpleasant sewerage causing sore throats in the area. The Burgh Surveyor made a suggestion for a remedy which it was agreed should be carried out. It is most likely that this remedy was the installation of the current stink pipe.

Statement of Interest

The Hill Place Stink Pipe meets the criteria for listing for the following reasons:

• It is a very rare surviving example of historic public infrastructure and engineering introduced to improve public health at the turn of the 20th century.
• It survives at its full original height which is rare when compared to other surviving examples.
• The ventilation pipe retains its contemporary historic setting next to a row of houses for which it was built to improve their immediate environment.
• It is a physical reminder of the social history and development in improvements towards public health of Scottish towns and cities.

Architectural interest

The design of ventilation pipes was often decorative beyond the necessary level for them to perform their simple function. Some were often highly decorative such as two examples on Hutcheon Street in Aberdeen. Although this example at Ardrossan is less decorative than some others of the time, it still retains a good level of architectural interest. It is also unusual because it is largely unaltered, retaining its full height when there are other examples that have been truncated or removed completely.

Historic interest

Although there were likely a high number installed across the streets of the larger Scottish towns and cities the Ardrossan example is now a rare surviving example in Scotland. Other examples of ventilation pipes are the pair on Hutcheon Street in Aberdeen, one at Kinnaird Head Lighthouse in Fraserburgh, and a shorter one on East Camperdown Street in Dundee.

A number of stink pipes still survive in towns and cities throughout the UK although many have now been truncated and now appear similar to bollards in the streetscape.

These structures are historically important as evidence of later 19th centuries Town Councils' development of improved public sanitation as a result of the new national awareness for necessary improvements to the quality of life in urban centres.

The Hill Place ventilation pipe demonstrates Ardrossan's civic response to public health concerns and national legislation on the treatment of waste. It is a physical reminder of the move towards improved sanitation and public health for the greater population and urban communities.

Recommended Books

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  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
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  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)