🥃 Muckletoon's Lost Distilleries - Langholm Distillery
- Jun 20
- 3 min read
Part One
Last week, I found myself in Langholm once again - this time to join the team from Moffat Distillery for the launch of their new blended malt: Muckletoon.
Langholm, if you didn’t know, was known - and still is, amongst some folk - as the Muckle Toon.
Coincidentally, at the recent Business Archives Council of Scotland conference, the question was asked as to why dates are so important to whisky enthusiasts, particularly when talking about claims to being the oldest distillery in Scotland. Glenturret’s claim of 1763 is debatable. As is Bowmore’s 1779. The owners of the Littlemill brand - now a lost distillery - claim a foundation date of 1772. But, in his book (The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom), Alfred Barnard states that Langholm Distillery was founded in 1765. If this is true, a distillery that we rarely talk about today could well be one of the first to have been established in Scotland.
By 1832, Langholm Distillery was in the hands of James Connell. Now, Brian Townsend (in his fabulous book, Scotch Missed) notes that the owner was John Connell. But looking in the census records, I only managed to find a James. So, let’s just call him that.
James bought the distillery with two others but by 1835, they had both left the partnership. One of them - James Kennedy - went on to establish another distillery (Glentarras) just a couple of miles down the road. But I’ll include more about that in a future newsletter.
James, together with his wife Anne, had nine children (including a John which is maybe where the confusion originated?) and by the time Barnard visited Langholm Distillery in the 1880s, it was one of those children - Arthur - who was the owner.
As far as whisky history geeks are concerned, Barnard’s book is undoubtedly an amazing resource. For those not so geeky, it’s a great publication for anyone having difficulty sleeping. But from it, we know that Langholm Distillery had one wash still (about 8,200 litres) and two spirit stills (about 2,600 and 1,500 litres respectively). Its annual output was about 210,000 litres - so, on a par with the likes of Lindores Abbey, Lochlea and Arbikie today.
For all intents and purposes, Langholm Distillery did very well for itself. Its Famed Small Still Malt Whisky - matured in sherrywood puncheons, hogsheads and quarter casks - was well-respected, particularly over the border in Englandshire. In fact, with agents operating in Liverpool and Manchester as well as wholesale whisky premises in Newcastle, that’s pretty much where most of its whisky ended up.
Having posted about this several times on social media in the past, on the off-chance that someone might know what it actually is, I am, alas, still none the wiser. But let’s mention it anyway. Once a year, production at Langholm Distillery turned to that of Birch Whisky. And whatever it was, it was apparently very popular.
By 1917, production at Langholm Distillery ceased - undoubtedly due to the waters of the First World War proving too choppy. And the following year, Arthur Connell popped his clogs at the grand old age of 89.
When he died, he left an estate of just over £16,000 - the equivalent of £788,000 today.
I did head to Staplegordon Churchyard to take a look at his gravestone. But it wasn’t to be - you can find out why HERE.
But from the above, you can see that Arthur was buried alongside his second wife, Elizabeth (who he married in 1877).
He had at least one child with his first wife, Anna. There may have been more - I’m not sure how (or if) the Rev. John Connell mentioned in the probate list was related to the family.
But Anna Marion who is also mentioned was related - she was his daughter, born in December 1870. Just three weeks before her mother died, in fact. The cause of her mother’s death was metritis - an inflammation of the uterus.
Ten years after the distillery had stopped production, it was bought by Arthur Tolson who converted it into the Border Esk Garage (and the house where he lived with his wife, Kate, and their children). Kate lived until she was 100 years old and it was great to speak to the Tolsons’ great-grandson - who still lives in Langholm - at the Muckletoon launch.
By the time Tolson had bought the premises, the main distillery buildings had been demolished. But the vestiges of what might just be one of the first distilleries established in Scotland still remain.
Slà inte!
Justine