IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Hatters View, DUMBARTON, G82 1AT

All that remains of the former Dumbarton distillery, these towers have dominated the town centre skyline since 1938.

It was built on Image; compare the earlier Image The spire of Image can be seen on the right.

Looking over Dumbarton, up the Vale Of Leven towards Loch Lomondside. The distinctive outline of Ben Lomond is prominent in the distance. The remains of Dumbarton Distillery can be noted in the foreground.

Only the central tower of what was at one time the largest distillery in the world remains. The mouth of the River Leven is in the foreground, Ben Lomond can be seen in the distance. Viewed from Bower Battery at Dumbarton Castle.

The buildings under construction are near the site of the demolished brick tower of the distillery: Image The older stone wall on the right is the back of Image The numerous small windows behind it belong to the church hall of Dumbarton Riverside Parish Church; compare the earlier picture Image

The remains of Dumbarton Distillery, as seen from Riverside Lane.

Only the central tower of what was at one time the largest distillery in the world remains. Ben Lomond can be seen in the distance. Viewed from Bower Battery at Dumbarton Castle.

All that remains of the former Dumbarton distillery. Viewed from Riverside Parish Churchyard.

Click on the end-note title for related pictures. The present view is from the White Tower Crag of Dumbarton Rock. The former location of the tall brick tower, which had until recently been the last remnant of the distillery, is just below the centre of the picture, where a darker brown heap can be seen among the generally pale material on the site. Just behind the site, Image is visible on the right, and part of Image on the left. The River Leven is in the foreground; along the bottom edge of the picture are boats and buildings at Image

This seven-storey brick tower, standing between Castle Street (Image) and the River Leven (Image), is all that remains of the former Ballantine's Distillery (which was built in the late 1930s; it was once Europe's biggest distillery). The site which it occupied had previously been the site of McMillan's Shipyard. The mound to the right of the tower is evidence of development now taking place on this site (it later stalled: compare Image, a similar but wider picture taken about seven years later). The nearby Image can be seen in the left-hand side of the photograph (early in the twentieth century, the proprietors of McMillan's Shipyard were given permission to expand into ground, on the south side of the parish church, that had formerly been a part of the kirkyard; see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Dumbarton-Cemetery#reduction-in-size for further details). For an older view, which includes parts of the distillery that have now been demolished, see Image A short section of a railway track that originally provided a rail connection to McMillan's Shipyard, and which later served the distillery that was built in its place, can still be seen: Image According to "The Ballantine's Story" (Jonathan Mantle, 1991), the construction of the distillery on this site required 2 million bricks (red Accrington), 10,000 cubic yards of reinforced concrete, and 3,000 tons of steel. The complex included a small malt distillery called Inverleven, as well as warehouses and a bottling and blending plant. Preparations for war were given priority over construction on this site, delaying the completion of the building work.