Abbeyhill Distillery: Croft-an-Righ and Edinburgh’s Lost Whisky History
Abbeyhill’s distillery belongs to the industrial history around Holyroodhouse, where whisky making and brewing once occupied neighbouring streets and yards. Also known as Croft-an-Righ, it is documented in both heritage research and a contemporary Edinburgh directory. The surviving maltings nearby help explain that setting, but they should not be mislabelled as a surviving Abbeyhill still house.
Information checked on 27 October 2026.
St Anne’s former brewery buildings at Croft-an-Righ, photographed in 2017. They illustrate Abbeyhill’s industrial setting; they are not identified as the lost distillery’s still house.
At a glance
At a glance | Abbeyhill Distillery |
|---|---|
Country | Scotland |
Whisky region | Lowlands |
City | Edinburgh |
Historical locality | Croft-an-Righ, Abbeyhill, near Holyroodhouse |
Alternative name | Croft-an-Righ Distillery |
Early evidence | A local distillery is recorded in heritage research by 1786 |
Documented operator | James Alexander Bernard, directory of 1848–49 |
Closed | 1852 |
Nearby listed heritage | St Anne’s former brewery buildings, LB51175 |
Current original range | None verified |
In this guide
AI summary: key points
Abbeyhill and Croft-an-Righ are names associated with the same historical distillery near Holyroodhouse. Evidence predates the often-repeated foundation year of 1825.
The 1848–49 Post Office directory explicitly lists Croft-an-Righ Distillery and James Alexander Bernard. Heritage research dates final closure to 1852.
The listed buildings at 13 Croft-an-Righ belonged to St Anne’s Brewery. They illustrate the area’s industrial history, not a verified surviving distillery or public whisky tour.
Summarise this guide with AI
An older history than a simple 1825 foundation
Gavin Smith’s Edinburgh whisky history identifies Abbeyhill with Croft-an-Righ and places it in operation before 1825. Historic Environment Scotland adds earlier context: when Archibald Campbell Younger acquired the local brewery in 1786, the area also contained a distillery owned by Thomas Miller. The exact beginning of distilling is not established by those references.
The heritage account records a new distillery operator in 1846 and closure in 1852. A contemporary source fills in a name between those dates. The Post Office Edinburgh and Leith Directory for 1848–49 lists Croft-an-Righ Distillery under the court and names James Alexander Bernard.
These records support a real business at a real locality. They do not prove uninterrupted operation from the eighteenth century to final closure. Nor should Thomas Miller, the Younger brewing family and Bernard be combined into one continuous company without further archival evidence.
Croft-an-Righ beside Holyroodhouse
The directory places Croft-an-Righ Court within Croft-an-Righ Wynd and identifies the wynd through its connection with Abbeyhill. Its separate entries for the court, house and distillery show why a shared place-name cannot make every nearby building part of the whisky works.
Today’s most visible industrial survivor is the former St Anne’s Brewery complex at number 13. The heritage listing describes a substantial malthouse and kiln. The photograph in this guide shows those brewery buildings as context. Their exact relationship to the lost distillery footprint is not asserted.
What the records actually establish
The contemporary directory identifies a distillery and an operator, but supplies no still inventory, annual output or production recipe. Edinburgh whisky research places Abbeyhill among the city’s historical malt-distilling concerns. That broad classification is useful; a detailed technical specification would go beyond the evidence reviewed.
The neighbouring brewery’s malthouse demonstrates the importance of malting to this industrial district, but its five-storey structure cannot be assigned to Abbeyhill’s whisky production merely because both businesses used malt. Brewing and distilling are related trades with different production stages and separate business histories.
No reliable fermentation duration, peat level, water source, cask policy or fixed spirit strength has been established for Abbeyhill here. Those gaps are left open. Architectural evidence and a named trader are valuable historical findings without requiring a modern-style production profile.
A lost whisky business without a surviving line-up
No present-day whisky range from the original Abbeyhill Distillery has been verified. The directory tells us that the business existed; it does not list age-stated expressions or provide a label from which a bottling strength could be read.
Modern whisky made elsewhere in Edinburgh belongs to those producers’ own histories. In particular, Holyrood Distillery at St Leonard’s Lane is a separate site. Its current whiskies and visitor facilities should not be presented as a continuation of Abbeyhill’s original production.
Labels, names and the limits of identification
An object labelled Abbeyhill, Croft-an-Righ or Bernard would need close examination before being attributed to this distillery. A street address may identify a merchant or bottler rather than a still. Similar names in brewing records require the same care.
No authenticated original release is recommended here. For further research, dated trade directories and the underlying archival references in the heritage record provide stronger leads than speculative tasting notes or a modern bottle chosen because its name sounds similar.
Exploring the district’s surviving heritage
Abbeyhill has no verified operating distillery tour, tasting room or shop. The heritage interest lies in the surrounding streets and the distinction between lost and surviving industrial buildings. The listed maltings at Croft-an-Righ are former brewery premises and later workshops, rather than a public whisky attraction.
View buildings from public places and respect their present use. The nearby Edinburgh guides below cover separate distilleries and whisky stories. If planning a tasting or production tour, use the current arrangements of the named operator instead of treating a historic district name as a booking destination.
Explore more regional whisky history
These guides are suggestions for further reading. Check locations, travel distances and current bookings when planning a visit.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Abbeyhill the same historical distillery as Croft-an-Righ?
Whisky history identifies the two names with the same lost distillery. The wider Croft-an-Righ locality also contained a house and brewing businesses.
Was the distillery founded in 1825?
That exact foundation date is not established. Historical research places it in operation before 1825, with an earlier local distillery reference in the heritage record.
Who was running Croft-an-Righ in the late 1840s?
The 1848–49 Post Office directory names James Alexander Bernard beneath the Croft-an-Righ Distillery entry.
Are the surviving maltings the old whisky distillery?
The listed number 13 buildings are identified as St Anne’s Brewery premises. They should not be relabelled as a surviving Abbeyhill still house.
Is the modern Holyrood Distillery a reopening of Abbeyhill?
No. It occupies a different site at St Leonard’s Lane and should have its own production and visitor identity.
Sources and image credits
View sources and image credits
Historic Environment Scotland: Croft-an-Righ and St Anne’s brewery history, LB51175
National Library of Scotland: Post Office Edinburgh and Leith Directory 1848–49, printed page 165
Gavin Smith, Whisky Magazine: A capital revival, 12 July 2019
Iain Russell, Edinburgh Whisky Academy: Edinburgh’s whisky history, part 1
Stewart Lamb Cromar: 13 Croft-an-Righ photograph, 17 September 2017
Featured image: Stewart Lamb Cromar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Research checked on 27 October 2026. Tour arrangements, releases and availability can change.
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