Wexford Distillery's

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:00 pm

I've looked at references about other distilleries in Wexford too. Roe & Flecher had one in New Ross back in c1785. I seen a reference to it in the Bassett's Wexford Guide.

I found that another was mentioned in Barnard's- distilleries of the UK. It was closed in 1709 because there were more stills on site than revenue was getting tax for.

That's 4 Distilleries so far.

I wonder if the Roes were any relation to George Roe.

On M.C. Harvey of Bishopswater having the distillery before Devereaux, I think they were related. I have read it somewhere and hopefully I can remember.

by **charleymcguffin** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 12:34 am

Roe & Fletcher New Ross.
I have always been of the impression that the Roe of the Roe and Fletcher distillery was related to the Dublin Roe's although have no definitive proof. The distillery at Creywell was set up by Roe & Fletcher in 1785 ,according to Basset's. Pigot's directory tells us that it had been converted into a brewery by 1824.Cherry Bros took over the brewery some 6 years later in 1830 and continued on the same site until the mid 1950's .The Cherry's business being transferred to the former Strangman Davis brewery in Waterford which became Guiness and is now the Waterford Distillery . It would be nice to think that the Waterford Distillery has a link to the Roe Distillery on Thomas St in Dublin.

: cherry_bros.jpg (67.62 KiB) Viewed 233 times

Map showing the Distillery/ Brewery site........

: craywell brewery 3.jpg (166.22 KiB) Viewed 146 times

Another view of the distillery......

: Untitled 7 (800x348).jpg (181.23 KiB) Viewed 146 times

by **charleymcguffin** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:17 pm

Taghmon Distillery

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote:
I found that another was mentioned in Barnard's- distilleries of the UK. It was closed in 1709 because there were more stills on site than revenue was getting tax for. That's 4 Distilleries so far.

I could not find the mention in Barnard's, however a fourth distillery is mentioned in " The Lost Distilleries of Ireland".
This mentions a distillery at Bishopswater that predated the Harvey/ Devereaux distillery and owned by John Devereaux( also mentioned in Irish Whiskey by E.B. McGuire), I feel that this may be incorrect . The name is right but not the location. In 1791 it is noted that a large distillery was owned by William Devereaux of Taghmon. The distillery sat in a large parcel of land in the centre of Taghmon and was offered for sale in that year.
In 1791 the following advertisement appeared in the Leinster Journal 14th Sept 1791:
To be let and entered on immediately for a term of years.
A large distillery in the town of Taghmon and county of Wexford.
Application to be made to William Devereaux in said town,who will give
good encouragement to anyone who undertakes it. Sept 6 1791,
N.B. The taker can be accommodated with any quantity of land he chooses.
Very convenient.
John was Williams son ,both had prominent positions in the rebel forces of 1798 and were involved in the fighting at Ross and presumably at the nearby Horetown and Foulksmills.John escaped the clutches of the loyalists and was later exiled . William did not fare as well , an old man he was captured and thrown into Wexford goal where he cheated the hangman by dying before the could put a noose around his neck.
Regarding your story re the closure of the distillery which predated William Devereaux but would seem to have operated on the same site ,the following is a piece from the Taghmon Historical society..

"In bygone years Taghmon was also not without its own distillery. However, it met its demise in a somewhat curious manner.
About one hundred and sixty years ago a distillery flourished in Taghmon. The site of the distillery is in a perfect state of preservation today and in the possession of Mr. M. J. Cullen merchant, Main Street, Taghmon. The distillery proper was situated in Joseph Street Taghmon. The big stores, visible from Green Garden Street, were used for malting purposes. The remains of the grain chutes can be observed and also the corn lifts can be seen.
The concern was owned by Bolgers who were at the time the leading business people in South Wexford. The downfall of this distillery was as follows. In the summer of 1709 a revenue officer under an escort of a troop of yeomanry arrived in the town and made a raid on the distillery. The officer found two stills working although the owner had only license to work one still. The whole machinery was dismantled and in addition the owner was fined £200. So that ended the distillery in Taghmon."
Written by: Fintan Martin who heard it told by his father (Mr. M. J. Martin) who heard it from Mr. P. Pender age 86 years, still living in Taghmon. IFC S 83:171-172
http://www.taghmon.com/vol4/chapter09/chapter09.htm
In the 1802, Returns of Licensed Stills. the Taghmon distillery is licensed to John Breen and had an output of 210 galls. It fails to appear in any returns after that year.

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:23 pm

That makes more sense. I don't have my "Distilleries of the U.K." at the moment so I'm going from memory and that's not always reliable.

I know the story of the Taghmon distillery that closed but couldn't figure out how tax was being paid for still in the region in 1825.

I've been looking into the mention of Simon Lacy Distiller in Clonegal. There a record of a distillers house but my computer froze before I could dig further. The phone is too small to get a good look at things.

I wonder did Letts or Donohue have an involvement in distilling over the years?

by **charleymcguffin** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 8:58 pm

Johnstown(John's Town)Ballyshonogue,Clonegal

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote:I've been looking into the mention of Simon Lacy Distiller in Clonegal. There a record of a distillers house but my computer froze before I could dig further. The phone is too small to get a good look at things.

I usually think of Clonegal as being in Carlow but in this instance it is the Wexford side of the river where Simon Lacy resided and carried on his business. The booklet "Clonegal in 1798" lists Simon Lacy as a distiller and gives his address as Johnstown/Ballyshonogue/Clonegal . The National Inventory of Architecture has details of his house" Ballyshonogue" in the townland of Johnstown http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/s ... =15700404#
The OSI maps show the house and the mill/distillery in an adjacent field . the mill being in a ruinous state and the mill race disappeared underground.
In the British Parliament papers of 1805/6 " an account of the number of stills licensed in Ireland" (page 797-800) the distillery is listed as in Wexford licensed to Simon lacy having 1 still with an output of 533 galls avg.
From the entry in Lewis's A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837, It would seem that the distillery closed shortly after 1806,as the following chapter refers to it having closed 20 years prior to publication......
"JOHNSTOWN, a village, in that part of the parish of MOYACOMB, or CLONEGAL, which is in the barony of SCAREWALSH, county of WEXFORD, and province of LEINSTER, nearly adjoining the village and post-town of Clonegal, on the road from Ferns to Tullow; containing 45 houses and 235 inhabitants. Here was formerly an extensive distillery, which was discontinued about 20 years since: it has been lately taken down, and a large flour-mill erected on its site by Mr. Derinzy, of Clonegal."

by **charleymcguffin** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 9:46 pm

A few more pics relating to the Simon lacy distillery in Clonegal . An aerial view showing the house (red Spot) and the Distillery /mill as a ruin in the field between house and river . The old millrace would seem to follow the next field boundaries to the village.

: mill johnstown 2 (457x267).jpg (80.27 KiB) Viewed 213 times

: aerial clonegal.jpg (98.38 KiB) Viewed 213 times

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote: I wonder did Letts or Donohue have an involvement in distilling over the years?

I have never seen any indication that Letts or Donohue's ever got into the spirits business. Barnard did comment on the malthouses of Patrick Roche as he made his way through Enniscorthy to visit the Bishopswater Distillery. Roche originally had maltstores in New Ross near to the Creywell Distillery/Brewery ,before building the stores in Enniscorthy and taking up residence in the castle. The old malt stores now occupied by Dunnes in one and the other is The Baily pub.

by **charleymcguffin** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 8:58 pm

Enniscorthy Distillery.
The Lett's and the Donoghue's may not have had an involvement in the spirits business ,but that other great Enniscorthy family the Davis's certainly did. As early as 1824 Francis Davi(e)s in addition to his milling business is also operating as a spirit merchant ( Pigots directory 1824)

: PIGOTS DIRECTORY 1924.jpg (52.07 KiB) Viewed 189 times

Francis is also noted in Griffith's valuation as being the occupier of the flour mills that had previously been the Fairfield distillery.
As we have seen in a previous post,according to Lewis's directory of 1837,the Fairfield distillery had ceased operations by 1835. The edition of 1840 again refers to the suspension of operations at Fairfield ,but refers to a distillery in Enniscorthy town.

: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Comprising the Several Volume 1 1840.jpg (85.87 KiB) Viewed 189 times

This is confirmed by the document on" Licensed Distillers Ireland" Which shows a license for the Enniscorthy distillery for the years 1835 - 1840.

: Return of Number of Licensed Distillers in Ireland, 1835-50 1 (640x598).jpg (227.53 KiB) Viewed 189 times

TBC....

by **charleymcguffin** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 9:16 pm

Cont.......
The distillery fronted Mary street and Island St/Rd.

: Enniscorthy distillery 6inch map (800x562) (750x527).jpg (233.72 KiB) Viewed 189 times

Francis Davis had an involvement in both the Fairfield site as occupier after the distillery closure and the Enniscorthy distillery
Francis Davis employed a John Mullaly as distiller in his new venture.John had previously worked at J. MacKenzie Brothers & Co Distillery in Belfast. John's father Thomas who had rhuematic fever also moved to Enniscorthy to live with John. Thomas had been the building architect at Mackenzie's ,where he" had supervision of the distillery buildings"
" Duty was paid in 1836 on 73,896 bushels of malt and 14,777 gallons of whiskey " ( M'Culloch's universal gazetter Vol 1 1843).
With the closure of the distillery in 1840 ,the complete Mullaly family emigrated to Australia on board the "Salsette" John becoming chief clerke of Customs in Melbourne.

TBC.............

by **charleymcguffin** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 9:38 pm

Nothing(?) remains as can be seen by the 25" OSI map.

: Distillery would have been where the turntable servicing the PJ Roche maltings is situated.; Enniscorthy distillery 25 INCH (749x393).jpg (225.25 KiB) Viewed 189 times

The path of the rail line which opened in 1863/4 goes right through the middle of the distillery building. To facilitate the rail line and the building of the Enniscorthy tunnel, the building was destroyed and the road level was raised to cover the rail line.Perhaps the very obvious arch in Island Road is made from material from the old distillery ?
I can find no drawing of the distillery. The earliest photo is from shortly after the railway was constructed but before the PJ Roche maltings were built (1864-1875)

: Raised ramp road visible middle right of photo beyond bridge.; 1865-1914 robert french.jpg (198.23 KiB) Viewed 189 times

The large ramp that was constructed on the Island Road is visible just where the distillery would have been.

: Rail bridge beyond stone bridge shown with ramp .; robert french 1865-- (800x361).jpg (217.56 KiB) Viewed 189 times

Any further information appreciated.

by **charleymcguffin** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 9:58 pm

Just to finish an aerial view of the site...

: Aerial view showing The Bailey The rail cutting and Island Road.; Enniscorthy distillery 4 (800x442) (640x354).jpg (220.78 KiB) Viewed 188 times

Reference to the Enniscorthy Distillery in evidence to Parliament 1835.

: Digest of Evidence before the Committee of Parliament, on the extent, causes, and consequences, of drunkenness 1835 PG 33 (637x296).jpg (194.75 KiB) Viewed 188 times

Another reference is in "Leigh's New Pocket Road-book of Ireland" from 1835.........

: Leigh's New Pocket Road-book of Ireland.jpg (212.7 KiB) Viewed 174 times

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:21 am

That's a phenomenal bit of detective work Charlie. I'm really need a bigger screen to get it all in.

I'm expecting you to find another one now.

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 2:06 pm

A TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND from 1837 mentions plans for a distillery & Cotton mill in the Gorey region but I'm still looking to see if the plans ever got of the ground.

It would make sense that Distilleries and breweries would be located in the region too. The land is good for barley & wheat.

by **charleymcguffin** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:21 pm

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote:A TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND from 1837

I was aware of the Lewis's reference to a proposed Gorey distillery ,but have yet to find that the idea progressed any further... will continue looking.
I planted a little "Egg" in my last post ,when I referred to the recent closure of a distillery in New Ross in 1844.This is after Roe &Fletcher had many years before been converted to a brewery and sold to Cherry's and continued as a brewery for many years after.
Licensed Distilleries in Ireland Show a distillery in New Ross between 1835to 1844.

: return of the no of licensed distillers ireland (703x340).jpg (121.68 KiB) Viewed 162 times

This distillery was on the Rosbercon side of the river ,just on Wexford side of the Kilkenny borderline..

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY 1 (800x550).jpg (167.36 KiB) Viewed 162 times

It was called The Chilcomb Distillery on the edge of Chilcomb park and Chilcomb house ( the Parliamenty gazzetter of Ireland 1814-1845, incorrectly calls it The Clocomb Distillery). It had 3 coppers with capacities of 7724, 9784 & 10352 gallons, A low wine still and a wash still.
Nothing remains of the distillery ,the site was occupied by the Albatross fertilizer factory, itself now in ruins.

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY 5 (800x532) (640x426).jpg (219.77 KiB) Viewed 162 times

TBC...........

by **IrishWhiskeyChaser** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:31 pm

Great stuff Charlie, I have followed all your posts with great interest but do not like to clutter the threads with pointless comments. So take this post as my single post of appreciation for all your past and future posts.

Some excellent research there and all very interesting and relevant ... well-done :thumbsup:

by **charleymcguffin** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:35 pm

Chilcomb Distillery, Rosbercon , New Ross.
A few references in guides.......
Sights and scenes of our Fatherland page 511

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY 7 (733x198).jpg (125.14 KiB) Viewed 157 times

[i]
History of the Town and County of Wexford Old and New Ross 1900

: History of the Town and County of Wexford Old and New Ross 1900 (800x603) (640x482).jpg (248.05 KiB) Viewed 157 times

Handbook for Travelers in Ireland James Fraser........

: Handbook for travelers in Ireland james fraser (566x800).jpg (221.11 KiB) Viewed 157 times

TBC............

by **charleymcguffin** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 6:19 pm

Chilcomb Distillery ,Rosbercon , New Ross.
As was said earlier ,the distillery ceased production in 1844 . There may have been attempts to revive later but by 1850 the decision was made to sell .
The following advertisement appeared in the Cork Examiner of 30th Oct 1850.
" To Distillers,traders,capitalists,to be sold,
The most desirable distillery premises in Ireland,
Chilcomb Distillery New Ross.

: The cork examiner OCT 30 1850 (544x800) (435x640).jpg (231.71 KiB) Viewed 156 times

In 1853 the stills and operational equipment were finally sold off....
The Waterford News...

: The waterford news....1853 (632x625) (600x593).jpg (246.23 KiB) Viewed 156 times

The Wexford Independent 1853......

: The Wexford Independent 1853 (508x576).jpg (177.37 KiB) Viewed 156 times

Great detail on the stills and associated equipment...

After that date the site continued as a corn mill.....

some more to come on Fairfield and Enniscorthy

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 10:05 pm

The Davis's Distillery in Enniscorthy appears on Mary St. That street is cut off by the railway now but the family that have the business at the end live in near the old Fairfield distillery. I'm sue there's a connection.

by **charleymcguffin** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:22 pm

Chilcomb Distillery, Rosbercon , New Ross.
I had been looking for Photos of the Chilcomb distillery and it then occurred to me that I had one all along. The Photo is from the Lawrence Collection and was taken about 1861 when the distillery was operating as a corn mill .It was taken from the hill above Craywell ( Cherry's brewery ,the former distillery out of sight to the right and below the photographer). The stone buildings just at bottom of hill to the right are P.J. Roche malt houses.

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY and Rosbercon.jpg (243.86 KiB) Viewed 149 times

In the middle distance can be seen the old iron bridge with Rosbercon on the right hand side of the river. The distillery building is along the road by the jetty on the river with the mast less hulk.

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY and Rosbercon b (800x353).jpg (189.3 KiB) Viewed 149 times

The house That can be seen is called Chilcomb house and was owned by the Power ( Michael) family ,who had an interest in the distillery. A photo of Chilcomb house exists in the Lawrence collection ,taken by Poole who took these photos. .Check against the map in original post.

: CHILCOMB DISTILLERY and Rosbercon c (800x358).jpg (166.25 KiB) Viewed 149 times

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 6:27 pm

Thanks to Admin for creating the new thread.
Here's the list so far;

Nickolas Devereaux -Bishopswater Distillery in Wexford Town.
Andrew Jameson - Fairfields Distillery near Enniscorthy.
Roe & Fletcher - Chilcomb Distillery, New Ross.
Francis Davis - Mary st Enniscorthy.
Simon Lacey - Clonegal.
William Devereaux/Bolger = Taghmon.

It's believed there's another to find.

Thanks to CharlieMcGuffin for all the research and details.

by **charleymcguffin** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:54 pm

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote:Thanks to Admin for creating the new thread.
Roe & Fletcher - Chilcomb Distillery, New Ross.
.

I echo the thanks for the new thread .. looking at the info so far ,should really have had a thread for each distillery to allow for new information.
BTW I think that we have accounted for the 7 distilleries as you have counted the 2 New Ross distilleries as 1 . Roe and Fletcher were at the Cherry's site and the Chilcomb distillery is on the Rosbercon side of the river .I am attaching a map showing the two sites in relation to one another . Roe and Fletcher/Cherry's at top right a Creywell and Chilcomb bottom left at Rosbercon....

: Chilcomb & Ro& Fletcher -cherrys (480x478).jpg (179.27 KiB) Viewed 140 times

More info to come re both Fairfield and Enniscorthy as soon as I can resize some docs.

by **Good Whiskey Hunting** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 12:23 am

I never thought of that. Do you have the timeline for them.

Hopefully we'll have another in the future.

by **charleymcguffin** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:41 am

Good Whiskey Hunting wrote:I never thought of that. Do you have the timeline for them.

According to Basset's, Roe & Fletcher were set up as a distillery in 1785 . Pigot's directory tells us that it had been converted to a brewery by 1824. Cherry Bros took over the brewery about 6/7 years later .
Attached advertisement from "The Dublin Mercantile Advertiser " of 1st Aug 1831 for sale of site ( note spelling of Creawell)

: The Dublin mercantile sale notice (741x789) (563x600) (563x600).jpg (247.41 KiB) Viewed 123 times

The Chilcomb distillery was in operation between 1835 to 1844 See charts in above posts and final sale of distillery .. closure confirmed in "Sights and Sounds in our Fatherland " page 511 by Thomas Lacy.

by **charleymcguffin** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 2:12 pm

Enniscorthy Distillery.
In the first post ,we started with reference to the connection of the Davis family and the distillery at Island Road/Mary Street. However ,the distillery was already up and running for nearly 12 months prior to their involvement.
The distillery was actually started by " James Haig Miller & Co" J.H.Miller being described as distiller,dealer & chapman. If you have read the post on the Fairfield Distillery and Andrew Jameson's divorce,the name will have a familiar ring,James Haig Miller being called to the House of Lord's ,to testify on Jameson's behalf in his divorce petition.
The Distillery on set up consisted of.......
Three brewing coppers,
Metal mash tuns,
Two coolers,
A steam engine & 2 steam boilers,
6 wash backs 5,000 galls each, wash chargers,
Spirit receiver and store casks.
The still ,was a Coffey Patent Still.
The sum of 6,000 pounds was expended on the setting up of the distillery. The complex included malt houses,out houses , a dwelling house and garden.
Within 12 months of setting up the distillery ,it was having financial problems and was in arrears of duty to the crown.James Haig Miller was declared bankrupt.
The distillery was auctioned on the 19th Nov 1835 - as
" Newly -erected Distillery at Enniscorthy,
To be sold by private contract-
In the matter of James Haig Miller bankrupt.
(The Wexford Conservative)
There had been a previous excise sale in March 1835for arrears of duty and this consisted of 4,000 galls of old whiskey ( The Wexford Conservative). As the distillery was barely up and running,was this OLD Whiskey perhaps from Fairfield which had recently stopped production?
Moving on, In January 1840 Enniscorthy was visited by Fr. Matthew and he signed up 19,000 people to the pledge.
At that stage the distillery was stated to be capable of producing 40 Puncheons ( 4400 Galls) per 14 day period.
This was to be the nail in the coffin and the distillery was put up for sale by Richard Davis jun. on the 6th Nov 1840 .( The Wexford Independent). Beside the distillery The sale included ," A commodious dwelling house,with stables & coach house". Although the distillery and the end of terrace house on Mary Street were destroyed in the building of the railway and tunnel. It is highly likely that " Antwerp House" which exists to this day is the house described in the sales literature of 1840.
See Buildings of Ireland.... http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/s ... o=15603127

: Antwerp House; antwerp house (800x591).jpg (253.68 KiB) Viewed 110 times

: Rail cutting & Rear of Antwerp House ,ivy covered.; 416454830_01aaf707c4_b (800x595) (640x476).jpg (218.35 KiB) Viewed 110 times