Photographs

 

For its prominent position on the main road into Inverness, you'd have thought Millburn distillery would be widely photographed. Surprisingly, photos are not that easy to come by during its time in production. However, we'll do our best to compile as many photographs of Millburn as possible here.

1920s

This early photograph from Scotch Whisky by Gavin D. Smith, gives us a lesser-seen angle of the distillery.

Here's the distillery from a similar time period, complete with an authentic and gritty perspective and car.

 

1923

This fantastic image of the Millburn wash backs comes courtesy of the Diageo Archives and you can read the full article on this photograph right here.

1931

This early newspaper image gives us a unique perspective of life at the distillery.

The following image has an unknown, but the road and items may help us place nearer to the modern age:

1956

A great photograph from Am Baile, with the text caption being Millburn distillery in Inverness during the floods of 1956. So, its likely the Mill Burn burst its banks and empty casks were sent crashing down against the outer distillery wall. Hopefully, no whisky was lost during this event.

1960s

Underlining how encircled the distillery had become, this image was kindly provided by the Diageo Archives and you can read about it in more detail here.

1965

Another from John R Hume and available from the Canmore archives, this gives us a rarely seen perspective illustrating the mixture of old and new buildings in production.

1974

A fantastic photograph by John R Hume and comes courtesy of the Canmore archives. The notes are: general view of production block from W with Excise house in left foreground. 

The distillery seems very quiet from this photograph, with only an old Ford van hinting at life. Also, notice the prominent distillery sign and clock.

1986

Distillery manager, Mr W.C.S. Watson is recognised for his long service, from an article in the Northern Scot newspaper

1988

This sad photograph, documents the destruction of the front end of the distillery site, to make way for its new purpose and owners. 

2020

Millburn survives and has been welcoming guests for food and overnight stays for decades now. Here's a modern outline of the site from Premier Inn.