Office Range And Proof House, Royal Lochnagar Distillery

The Royal Lochnagar Distillery comprises a group of distinctive buildings constructed in 1845, with later alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries. These buildings form a purpose-built distillery complex, including a manager’s house to the northeast and a single-story office range. The distillery has remained in operation since 1845, and while it has seen various changes, several original buildings and features remain.

The main buildings are constructed of coursed grey granite rubble, with grey slate roofs, some gable stacks, and brown-painted iron rainwater goods. A four-story, double-pile maltings building (now a warehouse) stands prominently, featuring regularly spaced small shuttered or hoist door openings. Adjacent is a U-plan steading, now serving as a visitor's centre, with seven former cart arches to the east, flanked by advanced blank gable ends to the north and south, and now fitted with boarded two-leaf timber doors. A pyramid-roofed mash house is also present, along with a complex of single-story office buildings including a three-bay cottage. A tall brick chimney is located to the south. The fenestration is varied but largely features timber surrounds.

The interiors have been extensively modernised; however, original features such as an old, open-top mash tun with rakes and rows of cast iron columns in the former maltings building are preserved.

The manager’s house is a two-story, three-bay dwelling with a timber-gabled porch, built of coursed grey and pink granite, with timber sash and case windows, two gable stacks, and purple slates. White-painted rainwater goods are also present. A single-story outhouse, also constructed of granite rubble, features an eight-pane timber casement window and a timber door.

The site was granted to John Begg in 1845 to build the distillery, following a fire that destroyed a previous distillery on the site in 1841. A visit from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1848 resulted in a Royal Warrant, changing the brand name to Royal Lochnagar. Substantial but sensitive alterations were carried out in the late 20th century to accommodate visitors and modern distilling practices. The buildings represent a good example of a mid-19th century distillery complex still in use.