Description

The monument consists of the distillery of Dallas Dhu and its associated warehouses and store rooms.

Dallus Dhu was one of a number of whisky distilleries developed with the support of Alexander Edward of Sanquhar. It was built in 1898 for Wright & Greig Ltd, blenders, by C C Doig, a local architect. The site for the distillery was well chosen. Water was available from the Altyre Burn and the site was close to the good barley-growing land of the Laich of Moray. It also had its own siding off the adjacent Forres to Grantown railway. After the First World War the owners went into liquidation and the distillery was sold to J P O'Brien Ltd, who sold it on to Benmore Distilleries. In 1929 Distillers Company acquired Dallas Dhu and promptly closed it for the duration of the Depression. Reopening in 1936, it finally closed in 1983.

The distillery has all of the buildings associated with the community which ran it. There are houses of the manager (now in private ownership and not to be scheduled) and the workers, an excise house (also in private hands and not to be scheduled), a malt barn, kiln, mash house, tun room, still house and the great warehouses to store the precious golden liquid. All are set within well-kept grounds.

The elements of the monument to be scheduled constitute the main production centre of the distillery, including the still house, kiln, mash house, malt barn and tun room. To the south is included an area containing a pond used for supplying water in case of fire and a strip of ground containing the main water supply and the embankment and cuttings of the former railway line. The two sets of workers cottages are specifically excluded. The area to be scheduled measures a maximum of 1070m between its northernmost and southernmost points and a has a variable width, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as fine well'preserved example of a traditional whisky distillery in working order. It represents one of the nation's most prestigious industries and meets the scheduling criteria in terms of the quality of documentation and the place of industry in the national consciousness.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Bibliography:

J. Hume. Dallas Dhu Distillery. HMSO; Edinburgh 1988

J. Hume & M. Moss. Whisky Distilling in Scotland. 1988
Historic Environment Scotland Properties
Dallas Dhu Distillery
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dallas-dhu-historic-distillery
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Related Designations

Malting and distilling buildings including chimney and worm tubs, storage shed, bonded warehouses, barrel hoist and barrel rails, and excluding toilet block at Dallas Dhu Distillery, Mannachie Road, ForresLB8689
Designation TypeListed Building (A)StatusDesignated

Source: Historic Environment Scotland