Highland Park Distillery, Holm Road, Kirkwall

Highland Park Distillery, Holm Road, Kirkwall

Established in 1798, Highland Park Distillery is a complex of distillery buildings dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, with the western range restored in 1987. The distillery is distributed along the east side of Holm Road, arranged around a triangular courtyard on rising ground. The entrance is marked by a former manager's house range (now housing the Visitor's Centre and shop) to the west along Holm Road. The main production buildings comprise two malting barns in a V-plan arrangement extending eastward, double square-plan kilns with pagoda roofed ventilation towers at the apex, grain stores flanking the southern arm of the V-plan, a detached grain store range parallel to the northern arm, and a rectangular still-house terminating the northern arm. A series of long, low rectangular bonded warehouses with gabled ends extends northward along Holm Road, with a further series of similar later bonded warehouses to the west of Holm Road opposite. The buildings are constructed of roughly coursed rubble with concrete cills and lintels.

The entrance range to the west comprises a 2-storey 3-bay house to the left of the entrance with a central modern timber door with rectangular fanlight at ground level and windows at each floor in each bay. To the right is a 2-storey 4-bay house with a lower 2-bay block serving as the visitor centre, also with windows at each floor in each bay. A single storey store range adjoins to the east with two small windows set close under the eaves and a doorway to a slightly raised block. At the extreme east of the range stands a 2-storey gabled block with an attic containing the grain store, featuring windows in each bay at ground and first floors and an attic window to the gablehead above.

The courtyard elevation of the entrance range presents an irregular single and 2-storey 5-bay complex divided into sections of 2-1-2 bays. A 2-bay block at the centre has a forestair to a modern boarded door at first floor over a deep-set doorway at ground level, with a window at first floor to the left. A 2-bay block to the right features a single storey addition at ground level with a central door and narrow lights flanking, windows to right and left, a window in a canted bay to the outer right, and two evenly disposed windows at first floor. An advanced gabled entrance porch offset to the right of centre leads to a single storey block to the left with modern 2-leaf part-glazed doors. The interior has been converted to various offices, a lecture hall to the centre, and a shop to the left block.

The V-plan malting barns are regularly fenestrated. The narrow barn, dating from circa 1840–60, comprises 2 aisles separated by cast-iron columnar supports and a brace beam to the malting floor at ground level, with a stone floor and exposed timber A-frame roof over a grain loft above with timber flooring. The wide barn, probably dating from after 1890, has 4 aisles divided by similar columnar supports to the malting floor at ground level, with a stone floor and exposed timber A-frame roof over a first floor malting floor without aisle divisions. Both barns have corrugated-iron roofs, timber-framed windows with some lower halves shuttered, and uPVC rainwater goods.

The two square-plan kilns feature pagoda-roofed ventilation towers at their apex with square-headed entrances at ground level and two evenly disposed windows set close under the eaves, forming a triangular courtyard to the east. The kilns contain coke and peat-fed furnaces with cast-iron doors, perforated metal kiln floors, and timber corn hoppers. They have grey slate roofs, timber-framed windows, and uPVC rainwater goods.

A tall corrugated-iron elevator house stands between the kiln and the northwest malting barn. Two later rectangular-plan harled mash houses and tunn-rooms flank the malting barn to the south. These contain cast-iron Porteus mash tunns riveted at the base, later aluminium mash tunns, 20th century riveted steel Porteus processing machinery including grist hoppers, and timber wash backs rising through two levels. The roofs are of corrugated asbestos.

A regularly fenestrated rubble grain store range runs parallel to the northwest malting barn, with timber-framed windows and cast-iron rainwater goods.

The 20th century gabled rectangular still-house at the north angle of the complex features square-headed sliding boarded doors and three large windows to each north and south gable. It contains four copper stills, a traditional copper and brass wine safe, and steel walkways and access stairs. Windows have been replaced with timber-framed small-pane type, and it has uPVC rainwater goods.

A series of single storey bonded warehouses extends north of the main complex and to the east of Holm Road opposite. Each has a central boarded door with flanking windows and a window to the gablehead above on the gabled ends. They have purple slate roofs with stone skews and uPVC rainwater goods.