Ardbeg Distillery, old filling house.

Ardbeg Distillery: Old Filling House

A large coastal distillery complex still in use, built from around 1815 onwards with several later additions and alterations. The site comprises an early core forming a large courtyard with warehousing and ancillary buildings. The listed buildings within the core complex include the east and west malt barns, east and west malt kilns, mash house, and old filling store, together with a stone pier and slipway to the south.

The early 19th century buildings are predominantly constructed in harl pointed rubble with some tooled ashlar dressings, with most exterior walls painted white. The roofs are mostly pitched and slated, though some have modern sheet metal coverings. The kilns are distinctive for their ogee-shaped and slated roofs with pagoda louvered apex vents—two pagodas on the east kiln and one on the west.

The courtyard elevation of the malt barns is asymmetrical, featuring a mixture of window and door openings of varying sizes. Metal wall ties are present in both malt barns. Both have forestairs on the courtyard elevation at their south ends. The southern range, positioned between the malt barns and projecting from the south end of the west kiln barn, contains the mash house and adjoining old filling store. This section is one to two storeys in height, built in similar construction and appearance to the malt barns.

The interior, inspected in 2022, retains many traditional whisky distilling fixtures and fittings. The east malt barn and kilns are now used as a visitor centre, café, and offices but retain features such as metal column floor supports. The west malt barn, no longer used for malt drying and storage, retains much of its original interior including wooden hoppers, related machinery, and metal column floor supports. The mash house contains mash tuns. The old filling store, now used for storage, houses two wooden tanks and related filling equipment.

The stone pier and slipway to the southwest probably date to the early 19th century. Constructed of rubble and dressed stone, the pier is curvilinear in plan with an adjoining slipway to the east. A short staircase of rubble and dressed stone leads down from the pier to the slipway. Metalwork acts as ties between some of the stone blockwork on the pier.

Ardbeg Distillery was formally registered as a legal commercial distillery by John MacDougall in 1815, though spirits were illicitly produced from 1798 and known to be in production from the late 18th century. The venture received backing from Thomas Buchanan Junior, a Glasgow whisky merchant. The site was chosen for its plentiful fresh water immediately to the north, proximity to fertile land suitable for a distillery farm, relatively flat surrounding terrain for expansion, and coastal location facilitating imports and exports by sea.

The 19th century was a period of sustained development and expansion. By 1835, output reached 500 gallons (2,273 litres) per week. Following Alexander MacDougall's death in 1853, Ardbeg was co-run by Colin Hay and MacDougall's sisters, Margaret and Flora, who may possibly have been Scotland's first female distillers. In 1855, John Ramsay became owner and landlord of Laphroaig, Ardenistiel, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg Distilleries, securing long leases and water rights for the distilleries' operators. The MacDougall family either owned or ran the distillery until 1887, representing nearly 100 years of whisky production, some illicit. The distillery reached a historic peak in 1887 with 1,100,000 litres distilled that year.

The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1878) shows a smaller site with footprints of buildings surviving today, including the east malt barn and kilns, old filling store, mash house, and some of the west kiln building, together with the pier. The map also depicts formally laid out gardens to the west for workers' recreation.

The 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1897) reflects the peak activity and shows a much more expansive site. The gardens to the west were replaced by massive warehouses, the west kiln was extended north to provide a second malt barn to support increased production, and the old post office, workers' cottages, excise house, and warehouse number two had been constructed by this date.

The early 20th century saw continued prosperity. In 1911, Ardbeg was registered as a trademark and the famous letter "A" logo was established. However, the distillery closed during the global economic Depression of 1932–35. The mid to late 20th century witnessed industry downturn. The malt barn floors were used for what was thought to be the last time in 1980. On 25 March 1981, Ardbeg Distillery closed, remaining closed until 1989, when production restarted on a part-time basis until 1996. A series of modern warehouses was constructed around the 1950s–60s at the eastern side of the site.

In 1997, Glemorangie PLC purchased the distillery, with the Old Kiln visitor centre and café opening the following year. In 2004, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey Group purchased Ardbeg. This modern era has witnessed further development with construction of a new boiler house and still house, together with ongoing maintenance, adaptation, and upgrading of buildings to serve as a 21st century distillery and visitor attraction.