Derelict distillery receives £60k funding

A dilapidated Scotch whisky distillery, which was once celebrated as the largest in the world, is to receive a cash injection of £60,000 to ensure it does not deteriorate any further.

The Kennetpans distillery is located on the banks of the RIver Forth near Clackmannanshire Bridge

The Kennetpans distillery was run by the controversial Stein family, known as Scotland’s “whisky mafia”, who produced alcohol in the early 1700s.

However, two centuries ago a quarrel broke out between the Steins and the government forcing the distillery into bankruptcy, which resulted in the site becoming a forgotten part of Scotland’s industrial heritage.

Now, a project hopes to revamp the distillery site, situated on the banks of the River Forth near the Clackmannanshire Bridge, and prevent any further structural damage, reports the Scotsman.

“This building was the world’s first whisky distillery on an industrial scale,” said Kirsty McAllister, cultural heritage officers for the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, which is coordinating the project.

“It is a massive site. There is the main distillery building, a number of outbuildings and a pier, which was used for transporting products in and out.

“It is part of Scotland’s industrial and trading past. The whole Inner Forth area was at one time a hub of vibrant trading activity and it fed a demand nationally and internationally for local produce like whisky.”

Kennetpans helped found two of the world’s best-know whisky brands – Jameson Irish Whisky and Haig Club, promoted by David Beckham.

John Stein – known as “The Father of Commercial Whisky Distilling” – had a daughter who married John Haig, who launched Haig whisky.

Another of his relatives, John Jameson, took over Stein’s distillery interests in Dublin.

The project, titled A Wee Dram, is being funded by a £30,000 grant from Heritage Lottery and a further £30,000 from Historic Scotland.

The work is scheduled to last three years, comprising vegetation clearance, some targeted building consolidation work on masonry that looks close to collapsing, plus interpretation boards detailing historic details about the distillery to visitors.

“The work will finish in 2017,” commented a spokesman for Historic Scotland. “It won’t be a visitor charging attraction, there are sensitivities because there are neighbours and we need to respect their privacy. But it will make it more accessible to the public.”