St. Magdalene Distillery

The now-silent St. Magdalene distillery was founded around 1798. It was originally known as Linlithgow, after the town in which it was located. In 1834, the distillery moved to the site where the medieval St Magdalene’s Hospital once stood, and its name changed accordingly. The distillery was run by the Dawson family for most of the 19th century, until it was sold to the Distillers Company Limited in 1912. St. Magdalene was a large distillery at the time, having 14 washbacks, 5 stills and the capacity to produce over a million liters of alcohol. The distillery closed in 1983 and the buildings were converted into apartments. However, the distinctive distillery look was retained, thus keeping the memory of St. Magdalene alive.