In July 1906, the city of Dundee was the site of a large fire caused by the ignition of a bonded warehouse. The fire, which burned for 12 hours, has been described as the most destructive fire in the history of Dundee. [1] The fire was described by an eyewitness as sending "rivers of burning whisky" through the city. [2]
James Watson and Co. were wholesale whisky merchants whose premises occupied a large site in Dundee on the corner of Trades Lane and Seagate. In 1906 about 300 people were employed by the firm. [3] Watson and Co. were based at 97 Seagate with Customs Bond No. 4 next door at 99 Seagate. [4]
An employee of James Watson & Co. was passing the building on the evening of 19 July 1906 when he noticed smoke emerging from its roof. The building was soon ablaze and large vats of whisky caught fire and exploded, leading to flaming alcohol raining down on surrounding streets and buildings. The fire quickly spread to other buildings. The premises of another whisky merchant in nearby Candle Lane were also destroyed. So bad was the inferno that firefighters had to be called from Edinburgh to help fight it. [3]
The fire attracted thousands of spectators who gathered to watch the blaze and the sight of 'rivers of blue-flamed whiskey flowing into street drains'. [5]
At the time of the fire it was estimated that £450,000 worth of damage had been caused. [3] The following year's Dundee Directory reported that the fire had 'desolated a large portion of the neighbourhood' around Seagate, Trades Lane and Candle Lane, and that as a result a large area for building operations had opened up. [6] New bonds designed by David Baxter were built on the site in 1907 and are now listed buildings. Whisky blending at Watson's Bond ceased in 1981 and the bonds closed in 1987. [7]
Drambuie is a golden-coloured, 40% ABV liqueur made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. The brand was owned by the MacKinnon family for 100 years, and was bought by William Grant & Sons in 2014.
A bonded warehouse, or bond, is a building or other secured area in which imported but dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. They may then be again exported without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government. This system is widely used in developed countries throughout the world.
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland with a population of around 150,000 people. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast of the Central Lowlands of Scotland. The Dundee area has been settled since the Mesolithic with evidence of Pictish habitation beginning in the Iron Age. During the Medieval Era the city became a prominent trading port and was the site of many battles. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, the local jute industry caused the city to grow rapidly. In this period, Dundee also gained prominence due to its marmalade industry and its journalism, giving Dundee its epithet as the city of "jute, jam and journalism".
Bell Baxter High School is a non-denominational comprehensive school for 11 to 18 year olds in Cupar, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1889, it educates over 1,500 pupils mainly from the surrounding villages.
Glen Ord distillery is a whisky distillery in the Scottish Highlands and is the only remaining single malt scotch whisky distillery on the Black Isle.
Deanston distillery is a Single Malt Scotch whisky distillery and it is the largest distillery owned by Scotch whisky producer Distell Group Limited a subsidiary of Heineken N.V, who also own Bunnahabhain Distillery on the Isle of Islay and Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull. located on the banks of the River Teith, eight miles from the historic town of Stirling, at the gateway to the dramatic Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.
The Cheapside Street whisky bond fire in Glasgow on 28 March 1960 is Britain's worst peacetime fire services disaster. The fire at a whisky bond killed 14 fire service and 5 salvage corps personnel. This fire was overshadowed only by a similar fire in James Watt Street on 19 November 1968, when 22 people died.
Banff distillery was Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Dundee Royal Infirmary, often shortened to DRI, was a major teaching hospital in Dundee, Scotland. Until the opening of Ninewells Hospital in 1974, Dundee Royal Infirmary was Dundee's main hospital. It was closed in 1998, after 200 years of operation.
The Kilbirnie Street fire, on Friday 25 August 1972, was a warehouse fire in the Port Eglinton area, on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland, which killed seven Glasgow Fire Service firemen in a flashover while they were trying to rescue a trapped colleague. What started as a routine industrial premises fire resulted in one of the highest losses of life for the UK Fire Service at a single incident in peacetime.
The James Watt Street fire on Monday, 18 November 1968, was a fatal factory fire in Glasgow, Scotland, with 22 employees killed. The number of fatalities was a consequence of the building retaining barred windows, a feature remaining from its previous use as a whisky bond. Around 100 firemen from Glasgow Fire Service attended this incident, which reinforced Glasgow's reputation for tragic fires in the 30 years after the Second World War.
Camperdown Works was a jute works in Dundee, Scotland, which covered around 30 acres and at one point employed almost 6,000 workers. It was for a time the world's largest jute works and was owned by Cox Brothers.
A whisky bond, a type of bonded warehouse, is a building where whisky on which excise duty has not yet been paid is stored under lock and key.
Battersby Hats was the trading name of Battersby & Co, a hat manufacturer of Stockport, England. The firm once had a capacity of 12,000 hats per week but it declined in the second half of the twentieth century and merged with other hat manufacturers in 1966 before hat production ceased altogether in 1997.
Dundee Women's Hospital, officially known as Dundee Women's Hospital and Nursing Home was a hospital for women in Dundee, Scotland. Originally it operated from premises in Seafield Road, it later moved to Elliott Road.
Robert Macfarlane Cameron RIBA DL (1860–1920) was a 19th/20th century Scottish architect, specialising first in public houses and later in cinemas.
The Union Bond Store is a heritage-listed former warehouse, bond store and Westpac bank branch and museum located at 47 George Street in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by John Bibb and built from 1841 to 1842. It is also known as Union Bond Store (former) and Westpac Bank. The property is owned by Property NSW, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.
The timeline of Dundee history shows the significant events in the history of Dundee, Scotland.
The vennels of Perth are a collection of small medieval streets in the city of Perth, Scotland. Similar to York's Snickelways, vennels are a public right-of-way passageway between the gables of buildings which can, in effect, be a minor street. In Scotland, the term originated in royal burghs created in the twelfth century, the word deriving from the Old French word venelle meaning "alley" or "lane". Unlike a tenement entry to private property, known as a "close", a vennel was a public way leading from a typical high street to the open ground beyond the burgage plots. The Latin form is venella, related to the English word "funnel".
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)56°27′47″N2°58′00″W / 56.4630°N 2.9667°W
  | This Scottish history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This fire-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
