4th July 1892 Glen Albyn New Warehouse

 

The Glen Albyn distillery has not fared well over time. The existing literature on the subject is limited, and this will be addressed on the site as new material becomes available.

Originally the site was home to a brewery, I have previously revealed the original configuration of the post-brewery-distillery that was destroyed by fire in 1849, having only been operational for a relatively brief period. 

While no avenue of research is off-limits, as work commences, I anticipate that a significant portion of the findings will pertain to the second iteration of Glen Albyn. The distillery was reconstructed in 1884 by grain merchant A.M. Gregory, in an attempt to revive its fortunes. The following year, a young distiller was selected to oversee its operations and establish Glen Albyn as a producer of premium whisky, erasing its prior and dubious reputation. 

He was enticed to relocate from the Benrinnes distillery on Speyside, where he had acquired his expertise in the field alongside some of the most renowned figures in the Scotch whisky industry. John Birnie was prepared to embark on a new venture, and he has a noteworthy tale that has not been widely documented.

Having gained some practical experience in the unqualified art of distillery research, I allow the findings, narratives and documents to guide our subsequent investigations. In order to achieve this, I have already conducted preliminary research that forms the foundations of this website. However, now, the journey through the distillery plans submitted to the Inverness Dean Guild will be examined in detail.

Accordingly, our investigation commences in 1892 with the submission for approval of a new warehouse. It is regrettable that any plans prior to this period are currently unavailable or unlogged. Nevertheless, you will see that a hive of activity in several new planning submissions will also provide us with a detailed layout of the site in the coming months, which form this second incarnation of Glen Albyn.

This application to the Inverness Dean Guild was made on 4 July 1892 and approved on the same day. The plans themselves for a new warehouse are wonderfully detailed, as you'll see.

Let's start with the dimensions. This warehouse was 194 feet long, inside it was 190 feet, meaning the walls were 2 feet thick. On the ground floor there were 17 columns to support the structure, approximately every 11.2ft, running the length of the floor, right down the middle.

There was a small office on the ground floor, right next to the 6ft entrance door. This meant that no one could go in or out without being seen, which was probably for the Exciseman or one of the appointed watchers. The office would have the small luxury of a 3ft window or portal to allow some natural light into the office space. 

By comparison, the first floor space was much simpler, with no columns required and 4 skylights indicated. These are probably of a similar type to those in the Glen Mhor warehouses built around the same time and used by thieves to steal whisky on 26th December 1966. Whether or not Glen Albyn has a history of theft remains to be seen. 

You'll notice that there is no suggestion of a lift or stairs to the first floor in the original plans, this may have changed at a later date, however we can see from this external drawing the original access point for the floor:

All in all, this ticks all the boxes for a traditional stone-built dunnage-style warehouse. Not huge in size, as the largest at Glen Mhor (the original warehouse that was extended) was over 300 feet long. What's also not stated is the number this warehouse was given at Glen Albyn, it certainly wouldn't have been the first, as we know the distillery was well up and running. In fact, this warehouse probably reflects the boom period in Scotch and the need to expand the production and maturation facilities on site. 

This set of plans doesn't show us exactly where the warehouse was to be located, that might come later given we have the dimensions and style of it. My initial thoughts are that the warehousing at Glen Albyn was less uniform and planned than seen across the road at Glen Mhor, which was constructed as a distillery, whereas Albyn was repurposed and blighted by fire at least once. 

What is also of interest is that we know Glen Albyn would become part of a naval base during the First World War by the US Navy. The buildings around the distillery, including the Bobbin Factory, would form part of its appeal. During my research I also identified the location of the factory which is on the curve of the Muirtown Basin, and essentially further north, towards the firth itself, as seen on this map:

This sketch formed part of more detailed plans of the works held in the Highland Archive. You'll notice in the top left-hand corner that Glen Albyn is slightly visible, with its chimney at the outer edge of the site. This gives us an idea of the area furthest away from the bustling community of Muirtown, where factories and chimneys were to be found. It also shows the distillery's drainage, which runs away from Glen Albyn, following the canal bank and skirting the edge of the factory site. 

I'm also intrigued by the mention of the lead pipe as a source of water for the factory. Nothing surprising there, you might say? Consider that it also seems to run along the quayside, and this is where Glen Albyn, as Glen Mhor, drew its own water source. There was a pipe which ran along the canal bank all the way back to the gatekeeper's cottage, just beyond the Muirtown locks, and it is likely that this pipe still exists today, although it has not been used for many years. 

My initial assumption is that the factory simply tapped into this existing pipe and extended its purpose and length. After all, why lay a new pipe, several hundred metres in length when you already had a one in existence?  

My thanks to the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness for making these materials available for my research. Their generosity ensures that the wider whisky population can enjoy these resources. Images have been watermarked as agreed and if you would like to use anything here, please let me know.