Elgin, North College Street, Elgin Brewery

Alba Archaeology (Highland) Ltd. was commissioned by Royal Haskoning to carry out an archaeological desk-based assessment and archaeological attendance in the form of watching briefs for trial pits forming part of the River Findhorn, Elgin and Forres (Burn of Mosset) FAS investigations.

Work commenced on the Elgin FAS in January 2007; between January and March, 139 trial pits were excavated for the Contaminated Land Investigation. Much has been revealed of Elgin's industrial past through the excavation of trial pits, including the remains of a cobbled floor presumed to belong to the 18th - 19th Century Elgin Brewery which once stood in front of Elgin Cathedral.

Information from Alba Archaeology (Highland) Ltd.

NJ 2224 6305, NJ 2201 6342, NJ 2223 6299 and NJ 2097 6295 A programme of archaeological work was carried out, June 2012 – April 2013, during ground-breaking work associated with a flood alleviation scheme. Previous evaluations and excavations conducted at four sites along the River Lossie in 2011 had identified the remains of a post-medieval mill at Deanshaugh. The work in 2012–2013 aimed to safeguard archaeology not in the previously investigated areas.

Four areas (A to D) were monitored. In Area A at Kingsmills, the remains of an illicit post-medieval grave were recorded. In Area B, next to Deanshaugh Mill, a well that would have been contemporary with the mill was recorded. At Pansport Bridge, Area C, the structural make-up of the river bank was exposed and recorded. Monitoring of topsoil stripping on the river bank to the W of Mansion House Hotel, Area D, recorded no finds or features of archaeological significance.

Archive: RCAHMS

Funder: Morrison Construction

Lindsay Dunbar and Kevin Paton, AOC Archaeology Group, 2013

(Source: DES)

Former site of Elgin Brewery, established c.1784 on a small tract of land between the cathedral and the River Lossie. It is reputed to have been one of the finest breweries in Scotland. It was partially destroyed by fire c.1898, and lay derelict for some time before being demolished c.1912 at the request of the people of Elgin so as to open up the view of the Cathedral. It is depicted on early town plans of Elgin (Wood 1822; Ray 1838) as well as on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps. A watching brief was carried out by AOC Archaeology in 2013 during groundworks for the Elgin Flood Alleviation Scheme. A sandstone retaining wall c.3.5m back from the river's edge was abutted by a man-made bank with sandstone facing.

Information from the Moray Historic Environment Record and OASIS ID: aocarcha1-154445 ((K Paton) 2013.