Lost Distilleries of Campbeltown and Kintyre

[Ship called Dignity]

Stumbled upon this website tonight by accident and thought it was quite facinating to see some of the places where Whisky Distilleries stood in Campbeltown.

http://lostdistillery.com/11campbeltown/

I seem to recall talk of there being a whisky tour in Campbeltown with signs etc showing sites of old distilleries. Would be a great idea.

Probably should be under local history this?

[EMDEE]

Campbeltown has a fascinating economic and social history, having been at one time the principal town in the county of Argyll and a major distilling centre, as well as a major fishing port. To the visitor, or even the resident, this history is not immediately apparent, and it would be good to give it a higher profile. It is truly amazing that a town that is so geographically isolated became the Whisky Capital of the World in the 19th Century, but then, the town was not so isolated really, as seagoing transport, both freight and passenger, was more significant at that time.

Angus Martin's book, Kintyre -The Hidden Past gives an insight into what it may have been like to live in the town at that time, when the keeping of pigs was commonplace in the town and they roamed about at will feeding off the distillery effluent at the Mussel Ebb before the land at Kinloch Park was reclaimed. (I wonder what the whisky flavoured pork was like) It was said at the time that "when the sun acts upon this mass the stench is often very great". It was estimated that in 1854 the pig population of the town was between 1500 and 2000. This was the reality of "Campbeltown Loch I wish you were whisky". Having done a bit of ancestry research, I have found that my ancestors on my paternal side were predominantly employed in the whisky distilling industry in the town in the 1800s, as were probably most of the working population of the town.

A misleading claim that is made about the town is that at the turn of the 20th Century it was the wealthiest town in the UK per capita. Whether this can be statistically verified or not, this wealth was certainly not in the hands of the ordinary working people of the town, and must have been concentrated in the hands of distillery owners and industrialists. That, however, is being a bit political.

I do feel that the recording, preservation and promotion of the knowledge of local history is very important to any area, as the present is the result of the past.