Records of Traquair House Brewery Ltd, brewers, Innerleithen, Scotland

Scope and Content

  • Promotional material, undated;
  • Public relations material, 1998–1999.

Administrative / Biographical History

Traquair House Brewery is situated alongside the Maxwell Stuart family's manor house near Innerleithen, Scottish Borders . A brewery was in operation at the time of Mary Queen of Scots' visit to the house in 1566  and in 1739  a 200–gallon copper was installed in the brewhouse. The 18th–century  brewery was purely a domestic brewery producing beer for the house and estate workers. It was disused some time after 1800  but the vessels and equipment remained untouched until it was rediscovered in 1965  by the 20th Laird of Traquair, Peter Maxwell Stuart . He restored the brewery to working order with the help of Belhaven brewer Sandy Hunter . When production began the ale was made to be sold exclusively through the Traquair House gift shop, but demand soon outstripped supply. Since the death of Peter Maxwell Stuart in 1990  the brewery passed to Flora Maxwell Stuart his wife, and since then has been managed by her daughter Catherine Maxwell Stuart , who extended the original brewery into an adjoining stable block in 1993  to increase its capacity. The company was registered as a private limited company under the name Traquair House Brewery Ltd on 7 February 1997  . In the 1990s  the brewery produced around 600 barrels per annum (200,000 bottles and the remainder draught). Brewing takes place all year round with the exception of August and the brewery claims to be the only British brewery to continue to ferment its total production in oak. The brewery produces three dark ales: "Traquair House Ale", "Traquair Jacobite Ale" and "Bear Ale" and there are a number of seasonal ales. The ales are exported world wide, with the United States of America and Canada being particularly popular markets, along with Hong Kong , Japan and Italy .

Arrangement

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

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Unknown.

Other Finding Aids

File level list available in searchroom.

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

No physical characteristics that affect the use of this material.

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents.

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0248 procedures.

Custodial History

This is an artificial collection compiled by the Scottish Brewing Archive Archivist. It moved to the University of Glasgow in 1991. 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

More expected.

Related Material

GB 0248 ARTEFACTS: Scottish Brewing Archive Artefacts Collection.

Location of Originals

This material is original

Bibliography

Traquair House website; Smith, Gavin D, The Scottish Beer Bible. The Essential Guide to over 150 Scottish Beers and Lagers , (Edinburgh: Mercat, 2001).

No known publications using this material.

Additional Information

Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives,ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999 and National Council on Archives,Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Collection catalogued by Natalie Milne, Archives Assistant (Hub), 21 November 2001. Catalogue converted to Encoded Archival Description by Michelle Kaye, Archives Assistant, 22 March 2012. Catalogue edited by Wiebke Redlich, Archives Assistant (Hub), 16 April 2002.

Geographical Names