Edinburgh, Wheatfield Road, Former Blandfield Chemical Works
Brewery (19th Century) (1893)-(1904), Pharmaceutical Works (20th Century) (1909)
Site Name Edinburgh, Wheatfield Road, Former Blandfield Chemical Works
Classification Brewery (19th Century) (1893)-(1904), Pharmaceutical Works (20th Century) (1909)
Alternative Name(s) Johnson Matthey; Former Bernard's Brewery
Canmore ID 79555
Site Number NT27SW 201
NGR NT 2276 7257
NGR Description centred
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/79555
- Council Edinburgh, City Of
- Parish Edinburgh (Edinburgh, City Of)
- Former Region Lothian
- Former District City Of Edinburgh
- Former County Midlothian
Note (30 May 2022)
Dating from 1893, the three-storey, four-bay building fronting Wheatfield Road was built as the entrance/office building for Bernard’s Brewery. The brewery ceased trading in 1904 and the pharmaceutical company T and H Smith took over the site in 1909, operating as Blandfield Chemical Works.
T and H Smith developed a number of opium-derived products and was a major supplier of chloroform, ether and morphine, as well as gauze, medicated lint and bandages during the First and Second World Wars. Before it moved to the Gorgie site, the company was known for producing the first liquid essence of coffee in around 1840. T and H Smith eventually became Macfarlan Smith, and subsequently Johnson Matthey which continues to operate from the site, manufacturing opiate alkaloids and other medicinal chemicals.
Information from HES Designations (REMB) 30 May 2022.
