Glasgow, 4 Inverkip Street, Loch Katrine Distillery

The Adelphi distillery was located south of the Victoria Bridge over the River Clyde and in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. It was founded in 1825 by C and D Gray and it is depicted on the 1:500 OS Town Plan of Glasgow (1857, Sheet VI.11.21). This shows a mash house standing SW of the distillery and a draff house to the SE, facing on to Muirhead Street. In 1870 its name changed to the Loch Katrine Adelphi distillery and ownership changed in 1880 to Messrs A Walker and Company. At this time it was one of the largest distilleries in Scotland, with an annual output of over 500,000 gallons (Information from Adelphi Distillery http://www.adelphidistillery.com/index-gate.php#history, accessed on 30/6/2017). In 1906 one of the distillery’s washback vats collapsed, resulting in 150,000 gallons of hot whisky engulfing the distillery yard and Muirhead Street, leading to one fatality (information from http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Gorbals-Whisky-Flood-of-1906/ accessed on 30/6/2017). A year later the production of malt whisky ceased, although grain distilling and cask maturation continued on the site. The distillery was made up of a group of red and white brick buildings, the largest of which was a seven storey, 4-bay by 5-bay silo block. The distillery complex was dominated by a large circular-section chimney with a flared top. It was demolished between 1968 and 1970, and today the site is occupied by the Glasgow Central Mosque.

Information from HES Survey and Recording (AMcC) 30 June 2017.