December 1916 Canal Basin The Highland Railway Company

 

This is the final Highland Railway Company invoice to be acquired as part of the document collection, which was obtained last October. I would like to extend my gratitude once again to all those who contributed to the acquisition, enabling me to make the documents available online and incorporate them into this research project.

We are now at the end of 1916, and this invoice is from the company based at Inverness Goods Station. As is the common approach, I'll transcribe the entries and then consider what they tell us.

One particularly rewarding aspect of these invoices has been their capacity to illuminate a hitherto relatively obscure era in Glen Mhor's history. The invoices collectively highlight the operational aspects of a distillery, including the transportation of casks, yeast, and raw materials. This is more information than is typically available about most distilleries and I'm pleased by the insight they have provided. 

1st December

(brought forward)

10 hogsheads whisky (1758), Walker & Sons, Kilmarnock

w/c on above 

1 hogsheads whisky, McEwen, Stirling

5 bds??, Birnie, Fochabers (interesting, a shipment involving the co-founder and distiller)

6th December

1 pcl (parcel?), Customs, Dingwall (this is noted to be 'less' this shipment when calculating an overall total)

11th December

12 hogheads of whisky?, ????, Leith

12th December

5 hogsheads of whisky?, Baillie & Co., South Leith

20th December

4 hogsheads of whisky?, Watson & Co., Dundee West

16 hogsheads of whisky?, A & McD., North Leith

29th December

2 hogsheads of whisky?, Cockburn & Campbell, South Leith

(Less 1 prcl on 6th December to Dingwall)

(allowed ?????) Dec 30th Canal Basin Deduction

Dec 18th Manchester

Dec 25th Manchester

In pencil at the bottom:

Coal 17-18-10

Barley 195-4-7

Yeast 9-11-7

EBB 10-0-8

Reflecting upon the invoice indicates that Glen Mhor has returned to the business of distilling and cask-filling. It is evident that casks are being transported from a number of regular customers, as well as a few new ones, such is the routine nature we're seen across these records.

It also reveals a dearth of raw materials essential for distilling, a discrepancy that, given the quantities previously observed, suggests the distillery team has ample resources to sustain their operations for the 1916-1917 season. 

A decline in business activity around the festive season is to be expected. It seems an appropriate point at which to conclude our assessment of the Highland Railway Company records that have been made available, until more are discovered, which is only a matter of time.