Additions to Glen Albyn Distillery July 1898

This is the initial set of plans from 1898, with the second set featured in the upcoming article from December, and organised chronologically, suggests with a current whisky boom in the market that the owners were looking to invest and boost production. 

I hope that these plans will begin to provide the layout and details that are generally missing from our knowledge of Glen Albyn. As always, I extend my gratitude to the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness, the guardians of this information, for granting me access on a non-profit basis.

Experiencing these artefacts in person and being able to handle them truly enhances your appreciation for the distillery's history, as well as the craftsmanship involved in creating such intricate drawings. Our current challenge lies in interpreting these historical treasures and bringing them to life for you.

As always, I would like to direct you to our expanding Timeline, which offers valuable context. Additionally, it's worthwhile to reflect on the impact of John Birnie regarding these upcoming enhancements, as he must have played a part in some form. 

In his role as the distillery manager and the person credited with revitalising Glen Albyn's success, his actions here may bear some resemblance to the distillery he would later assist in founding, Glen Mhor, or perhaps they won't, but it will certainly be fascinating to analyse these transformations. Chosen by the owners of Glen Albyn, likely with input from William Grant, who was undoubtedly aware of his skills as a nearby distillery proprietor, I am eager to discover what these plans will unveil.

This copy of the plans from the Dean of Guild is titled 'Glenalbyn Distillery Additions & Alterations' and received their approval on July 25, 1898.

Upon closer examination, this approved modification pertains once more to the kiln area, which had previously been authorised in a set of plans from November 1897. However, we had a question regarding the approval of the pagoda, also known as a cupola, which was becoming increasingly popular among Scotland's distilleries. This inquiry raised a point since it only proposed a single pagoda structure, yet history tells us that Glen Albyn eventually featured a double pagoda style building. This would remain in operation until circa 1961, when floor malting was replaced with Saladin Boxes at the distillery. 

Perhaps the answer lies within this set of plans, as it provides detailed illustrations of the kiln area and surrounding rooms, with the roof itself indicating the existence of a dual pagoda style - as seen above. 

Given that the records from this era appear to be comprehensive, we are left with two possibilities: either the original 1897 plans were modified for the kiln and pagoda, or they were revised for this specific submission. Regardless, we can now pinpoint when these iconic structures emerged in Glen Albyn's history and highlight the ongoing evolution of the distillery.

These illustrations provide us with a clearer view of the kiln structures from various angles, thankfully free from the surrounding buildings that crowd the production area.

We can observe the dimensions of the suggested enhancements (marked in red), indicating a ground floor height of 9'5", a first floor height of 6'11", and a top floor height of 7'. These measurements correspond to the existing building next door and are labelled 'section thro malt deposit.'

The other illustration serves as a visualisation, titled 'section thro the kiln,' offering an Atari-like 3D perspective with the floor extending into the horizon.

Continuing on, we also have the internal arrangement of the rooms in this section, which is fantastic news, and we can also derive some approximate measurements from this drawing.

According to the diagram of the second floor level, the dimensions are measured in feet and I've not accounted for the thick outer walls. It seems likely that the ground floor was utilised for storage or malting and its layout does seem to be what the 1897 plans covered. 

I've observed that the malt barns appear somewhat decapitated in this outline, yet we still obtain a perspective on the sizes in other areas and the proposed extension. I anticipate that we will be able to clarify the barns in future findings - from the Glen Mhor research, we understand that Glen Albyn had a higher capacity for malt processing and provided assistance to that distillery until the late 1940s. Nevertheless, at the time these plans were made, it was under different ownership, and there was no necessity for such an arrangement.

Malt deposit 

(sectioned into three areas but this represents its overall size) All dimensions are in feet.

57x45

Malt barn left 

(this could be incomplete from the drawing and much longer)

48x53

Malt barn right 

(this looks incomplete due to dimensions of the plans)

30x20

Kiln 

(with extension being proposed in red)

48x29

prior to the work proposed this was 30x29

Indeed, when we examine the rough yet undeniably functional outline of the site from the 1897 plans mentioned earlier, we can observe the kiln area, and more significantly, the impressive scale of the malt barns. While we have their width noted above, their actual length, which was considerable, remains unrecorded as you can see below.

As a tantalising glimpse, we will soon have a much more comprehensive outline of the distillery's layout in the plans from December 1898 that are amongst my current pile - this will provide us with greater context regarding the site's dimensions.

I must also point out a small oversight; I possess a third set of plans from 1898, dated May, which I should have addressed first. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to tackle them next, as they arguably depict the most prominent structure at the distillery, one that would ultimately dominate the landscape of Muirtown.

What structure surpasses a pagoda in height? What is essential on site to facilitate the distillation process? Yes, indeed, it can only be the chimney stack...