CXVIII

Cameron Bridge Distillery, Windygates, Fifeshire.

July 14th, 1927

There is a wealth of historical romance associated with this part of Fifeshire. In the good old days, when there were no railways and no constabulary, life was much freer and easier. Two centuries ago Kennoway*, which heads a romantic glen within two miles of the distillery, was the scene of many a thrilling spectacle, as it was the haunt of freebooters who carried on an illicit trade in Whisky on their own account. The Revenue officers, the forerunners of the present Excise men – was not the immortal Burns an active member of the Dumfries Revenue brigade – pursued a perilous vocation. A party of them who suspected that much that was unlawful was going on at Kennoway set a trap, as they thought, to catch the smugglers and marauders. But the freebooters got to hear of the scheme; and, ensnaring the Government officers, led them blindfolded into the caves and kept them there awhile. Then they compelled them to take an oath that they had been inside the haunts of the ungodly, but had seen nothing inconsistent with law and order. One of the caves bears the name of John Knox, who, for some unexplained reason, passed a night there.

* “Kennoway,” in Celtic, was spelt cean nan uiagh, and means “the head of the glen.” Archbishop Sharp spent the night here previous to his murder on Magus Moor, the house where he stayed being still pointed out to visitors.

THE DISTILLERY.

Among the scores of distilleries of Scotland that of Cameron Bridge enjoys two distinctions – the first that, covering sixteen acres of ground, it probably is the largest of its kind, and the second is that, intersected by the local branch of the London and North-Eastern Railway, it almost appears part of the railway itself. The buildings, chiefly of brick, are massive in size and remarkable for their lay-out for general convenience of operations.

It is recorded that John Haig founded and worked Cameron Bridge Distillery just over a hundred years ago; but there is reason to believe that there was a private distillery on the spot long before the dawn of the nineteenth century, and that John Haig developed and carried on the business in a manner that made it an outstanding house in the Trade. For a considerable time the enterprise was under the management of Mr. Hugh V. Haig, the son of the founder, until 1877, when the whole of the Haig interest was acquired by the Distillers Company Limited. It is a matter of interest that before Mr. John Haig took over the distillery the business was carried on by Mr. John Edington and Mr. Robert Haig, so that altogether six successive generations of Haigs gave their principal activities to the work. Mr. Robert Stein, a cousin of the Haigs, invented he first continuous distillation still. There was for many years an apparatus of the Stein type installed at Cameron Bridge, and it was credited with providing the flavour of the malt Spirit produced at the place.

As in the case of a number of other Scottish distilleries, water plays an important part. Here there is an abundant supply winter and summer from a deep well, and all the industrial plant receives from the river Leven its motive force. Most of the water rises in Loch Leven, about eighteen to twenty miles off, and there are sluices near the loch which when necessary regulate the volume.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DISTILLERY.

Efficient as the system of distillation at Cameron Bridge has proved, the general demand for its products has outpaced the output. The directors, some time ago, decided that the works must be made more in accordance with growing requirements, and sanctioned a scheme which, when carried to fulfilment, will bring the plant more up to date and make it well worthy of the company. One part of the scheme included the modernising of the mill by dispensing with the old millstones and installing four No. 7 Bamford mills, which work on the centrifugal principles by means of rubbing plates. This, when put in operation, increased the output of grist from 30 bags – each of about 18 stones by weight – to 45 bags an hour. In consequence of the engineering foresight the mill was kept running during the whole of the reconstruction. The height of the building was increased by 26 feet. Reinforced concrete floors and new elevators were introduced, and the whole structure was made fireproof throughout.

The driving power of the mill, which heretofore had been got through a steam engine, is now obtained by means of a water turbine which was used for driving the mash tun and the wort pumps. In addition to driving the mill this turbine is providing power for the electric generator as well as for other motors in the distillery. By means of a friction clutch with the mill shaft the mill can be completely cut off, while the turbine will continue to run and supply power for other requirements.

When our representative visited the distillery the engineers to the company had in hand the erection of a coal-handling plant by which the fuel will be deposited by conveyors into a large hopper above the boilers. Further the whole of the five boilers were being fitted with mechanical stokers, which are fed direct through a tube from the hoppers above. This method, believed to express the last word in coal stoking, simplifies firing, and, further, signifies economy by the reduction of the gang of stokers.

Another improvement in hand will be a new steam pipe installation. The whole idea, as may be seen, is to modernise the plant as far as possible, so that it may be run with the maximum of economy.

Electricity, too, is destined to play a much more important part in the distillery. Motors have been installed to supplant steam power, especially in regard to the pumping. In the adjoining premises, known at one time as the Drumcaldie Distillery and long since incorporated with the Cameron Bridge works, there is a power electrical generating plant which is being worked concurrently with the water turbine at present driving the mill, and also with another water turbine which is directly coupled to the electric generator; and there is a third water turbine to which it is proposed to attach another generator; so that there may be a further unit of power, if required, and which in case of need, would help to balance the strain on the particular units which are required to give out the power.

OTHER FEATURES OF THE DISTILLERY.

When it is stated that the Cameron Bridge distillery has a bonded warehouse capacity of five million gallons once need scarcely emphasise the rate of production which goes on all the year round – because, unlike Highland malt distilleries this one, which produces what is known as Grain whisky, has no season.

There are five different maltings with a capacity of 750 quarters a week. The average make is about 2,000,000 gallons a year, and there is storage for 65,000 casks, or, roughly speaking, 5,500,000 gallons. The bonded warehouse room is being increased by the erection, close to the railway, of a new warehouse of four stories. Each floor will be about 250 ft. long by about 170 ft. wide, and will be an important addition to the distillery, which, even now gives full employment to eight excise officers, including a surveyor. It may be mentioned, en passant, that permanent employment is given to about 120 hands of all grades.

The maize, which comes from various parts of the world, is placed in transit vans at the port of landing – Leith or Glasgow – and on delivery is run straight from these into the works by means of an elevator. The malt is dried in five large kilns by means of anthracite coal. There are four maize crushers, which operate at the rate of about 80 cwt. per hour. After the maize is crushed it is run into the cookers, or converters, and subjected to a boiling process for a certain time, when it is mixed with malt in a mash tun of a capacity of about 180 quarters.

The Tun Room contains twenty-four wash backs and five refrigerators – four enclosed and one open type; and there are two large Coffey stills for distillation.

The distillery is replete with all accessories of an up-to-date establishment, namely, cooperage, engineers’ shop, blacksmiths’ shop, and plumbers’ and joiners’ shop, etc.

There is a ready demand among farmers for the draff. The wet draff goes into the spent grain receiver and after being drained is dropped into truckers standing on the railway line, by which it is distributed. In the Drumcaldie distillery there is a large grain drying machine, and on the adjoining floor was, at the time of our representative’s visit, being erected a new grain drying machine by the same engineers, Messrs. Richard Simon and Sons, Limited, of Nottingham.

Part of the maltings is known as the “Kirk Loft,” because one room in the premises was in the old days set aside for a Sunday school for the children of the parish and was conducted by Miss Mary Haig, the respected sister of General Earl Haig, who at that time lived at Cameron House, near by.

For twenty-seven years Mr. John Johnston was identified with the distillery as manager. He retired in May, 1925, and was succeeded by Mr. P. Cowell, who was living in Canada prior to the War, and who saw considerable active service with the Canadian army. After demobilisation Mr. Cowell joined the firm of Messrs. James Calder and Company, Ltd., as their manager at Boness. The Boness company was absorbed by The Distillers Company Limited, in 1921, and on the retirement of Mr. Johnston, he was transferred to Cameron Bridge.

Mr. W. J. Wright, the commercial manager at Cameron Bridge, has held the position since June, 1923. Prior to that date he occupied a similar appointment at Ardgowan Distillery, Greenock, and at Carsebridge Distillery, Alloa. The magnitude and importance of the work at Cameron Bridge needs no emphasis, but it may be said in conclusion that the vast premises which constitute the home of the Cameron Bridge distillery enterprise, may be considered the headquarters of the staple industry of Windygates.

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