Port Dundas is an area of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, located to the north of the city centre. It lies to the north of

Cowcaddens Cowcaddens (; , )
is an area of the city of

, and to the west of

Sighthill Sighthill may refer to: * Sighthill, Edinburgh Sighthill is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The area is bordered by Broomhouse, Edinburgh, Broomhouse and Parkhead, Edinburgh, Parkhead to the east, South Gyle to the north, the indu ...

, with

Hamiltonhill Hamiltonhill is a residential neighbourhood in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated between Possilpark to the north and east and Port Dundas to the south. To the west of Hamiltonhill is a nature reserve bordering the Forth and Clyde Canal's ...

and

Possilpark Possilpark, colloquially known as Possil, The Port Dundas terminus was established at One Hundred Acre Hill between 1786 and 1790 and was named after Sir Lawrence Dundas, one of the major backers of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company. Port Dundas formed the terminus of a branch of the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allow ...

in the centre of Glasgow, linking to the adjacent

Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 177 ...

. It became an industrial centre in the 19th century, with textile mills, chemical works, granaries, distilleries, glassworks, iron foundries, power stations and engineering works all operating in the area. In 1859, a brick chimney was built at Port Dundas for F. Townsend. At it was the tallest chimney in the world at the time, with an outside diameter of at ground level. It was demolished in 1928.

Pinkston Power Station

In 1900, the coal-fired Pinkston Power Station was built at Port Dundas to generate electricity for the Glasgow Corporation Tramways network. Equipped with

Belliss and Morcom Belliss and Morcom is a manufacturer and supplier of oil-free reciprocating compressors, technologies and services. Founded in 1852 in Birmingham, West Midlands, it is now a division of Ingersoll Rand based in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. ...

generator sets, Glasgow Corporation had decided to electrify the network by 1901 for the opening of the International Exhibition at

Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...

. A large

cooling tower A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream, to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove heat and cool the ...

was added in 1954 and was the largest in Europe at the time. After passing to the

South of Scotland Electricity Board The South of Scotland Electricity Board (SSEB) generated, transmitted and distributed electricity throughout the south of Scotland, including the former regions of Strathclyde, Lothian, Fife, Central, Borders and Dumfries and Galloway and a few ...

in 1958, it was decommissioned in the 1960s, with the cooling tower being demolished in 1977; the first chimney was demolished on a Sunday in April 1978, and the other chimney came down the following Sunday.

Industrial decline and regeneration

Industry in the area declined through the 20th century. The Monkland Canal was closed to navigation in 1952, and the Forth and Clyde in 1963.

Charles Tennant Charles Tennant (3 May 1768 – 1 October 1838) was a Scottish chemist and industrialist. He discovered Calcium hypochlorite, bleaching powder and founded an industrial dynasty. Biography Charles Tennant was born at Laigh Corton, Alloway, Ayrs ...

St Rollox Chemical Works St Rollox Chemical Works was an industrial manufacturer of chemicals located in Glasgow, Scotland, that began in 1799 and operated continuously until 1964. It was created by Scottish industrialist Charles Tennant and owned and operated by his f ...

, at one time the largest chemical manufacturer in the world closed its plant to the east of Port Dundas in 1964. The M8 motorway was constructed immediately to the south, over the route of the Monkland Canal, in the 1970s, obstructing access to the canal basin. Early in the 21st century, the

was restored as a leisure attraction, and the canal and warehouses at Port Dundas were restored as apartments.

Port Dundas Grain Distillery

The area is the site of a former large Scotch Grain distillery, which produced 39 million litres of spirit each year on a site until being closed in 2010. Originally there were two distilleries in the locality, the first was established in 1811 by Daniel McFarlane. Two years later the second one was established by Brown, Gourlie & Co. During 1845 Coffey stills for the manufacture of

grain whisky Grain whisky normally refers to any whisky made, at least in part, from grains other than malted barley. Frequently used grains include maize, wheat, and rye. Grain whiskies usually contain some malted barley to provide enzymes needed for mashin ...

were installed in both distilleries. Both distilleries merged in the 1860s and later became part of the

Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...

in 1877. They were destroyed by fire in 1903 but were rebuilt and reopened in 1913, and rebuilt again in 1916 after being severely damaged by another fire. The distillery was closed for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A large modernisation programme was undertaken during the 1970s, when a new grain intake, spirit store, still house, boiler house and dark grains plant were opened. The Port Dundas Grain Distillery and adjacent Dundashill Cooperage, which manufactured

Hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large Barrel (storage), cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial Product (business), product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial ...

casks and dates back to 1770, are currently owned by

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

, and the distillery's large

flue gas stack A flue-gas stack, also known as a smoke stack, chimney stack or simply as a stack, is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oi ...

dominates the skyline of North Glasgow. It produced grain whisky used in the

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

, J&B, Bell's, Black & White,

Vat 69 Vat 69 is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was created by William Sanderson & Son Limited of South Queensferry, Scotland. History William Sanderson was born in Leith, Scotland on 27 January 1839. He started an appr ...

, Haig and

White Horse A white horse is born predominantly white and stays white throughout its life. A white horse has mostly pink skin under its hair coat, and may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant w ...

blended whisky brands owned by Diageo. On 1 July 2009, Diageo announced the closure of the Port Dundas distillery, with all production shifting to the company's other Scottish Grain distillery at

Cameron Bridge Cameron Bridge is a village in the conurbation of Levenmouth in Fife, Scotland. It is near to the village of Windygates and west of the town of Leven. A distillery was established in the 19th century by the Haig family, which is now part of Di ...

, as well as the North British Distillery in

Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located to the west of the city centre, and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry, Edinburgh, Dalry. Name The name is thought to be British language (Celtic), Brythonic in ...

, Edinburgh, which is jointly owned by Diageo and

The Edrington Group The Edrington Group Limited, trading as Edrington, is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It produces single malts such as The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt, and The Famous Gro ...

References

External links

Glasgow's Canals Unlocked
tourism publication by Scottish Canals {{coord, 55, 52, 23.87, N, 4, 15, 10.97, W, display=title Areas of Glasgow Canals in Scotland Business parks of Scotland Industry in Scotland Industrial parks in the United Kingdom Economy of Glasgow