Records of Ballingall & Son Ltd, brewers, Dundee, Scotland

Scope and Content

  • Correspondence re bottles, 1965;
  • Invoice, 1910;
  • Company stationery, 1960s;
  • The Life and Death of Ballingalls of Dundee, 1980s.

Administrative / Biographical History

Ballingall & Son Ltd began its life as the Pleasance Brewery, Dundee, Scotland, which seems almost certainly to have been established before 1750, although the founder is unknown. In the 1790s the business was acquired by Ebeneezer Anderson, a local merchant and Provost of Dundee  .

Around 1809 a partnership was formed, consisting of Ebeneezer and his son James, and two local merchants, William Lindsay and David Jobson jnr, and was called The Pleasance Brewing Company. Anderson died and Jobson became insolvent, and so in 1819 there was a new partnership of five; Patrick Millar and his son, William Lindsay and his son, and Patrick Scott. Alfred Barnard, author of "Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland", was of the opinion that James Ballingall, merchant of Overgate and councillor to the guild, was one of the partners.

In any event, in 1844 William Ballingall acquired and carried on the business under the new name of Ballingall & Son, until his death in 1856. His son Hugh succeeded him (apparently aged 16 years). He enlarged and rebuilt the old Pleasance Brewery premises, and added the Park Brewery in 1880/1881. In 1884 Hugh Ballingall was elected Provost of Dundee  , maintaining the position until 1887. It was not until 1897 that Ballingall & Son was registered as a limited liability company with a capital of GBP 100,000.

When Hugh Ballingall died in 1910 his son James succeeded him. The last of the Ballingall dynasty, James, being the great grandson of the brewery's founder, resigned in 1960 when new management took over. In 1964 the brewery was taken over by Drybrough & Co Ltd, the licensed houses were acquired in 1968 and the brewery was finally closed that same year.

Arrangement

The material is arranged according to the Scottish Brewing Archive classification scheme used within all SBA collections.

Access Information

Access to records within this collection is open, however an appointment may be required. Please email Archives and Special Collections for advice: library-asc@glasgow.ac.uk

Acquisition Information

Unknown

Other Finding Aids

See also University of Glasgow Collections

File level list available in searchroom

Alternative Form Available

No known copies of this material

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the ArchivistReproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures

Custodial History

The collection was previously housed with the rest of the Scottish Brewing Archive at Heriot-Watt University. It moved to the University of Glasgow in 1991. Custody of the Scottish Brewing Archive was transferred to Glasgow University Archive Services in 2008.

Accruals

None expected

Related Material

  • GB 248 D: Records of Drybrough & Co Ltd

Location of Originals

This material is original

Geographical Names