Alexander Blair founded the Townhead Brewery, Alloa, in 1853. He had previously been a partner at the Grange Brewery of Robert Meiklejohn & Sons. Soon however he was in failing health and the company was taken over by local businessmen. Blair & Co of Alloa Ltd was registered in1876 and again in 1883 as a limited liability company. It made a substantial loss between 1877-1884 and from October 1884 to June 1887 the company was run by representatives of the creditors. The company went into voluntary liquidation in 1896.
The company assets were purchased for £12,000 by a new consortium, and a new company was registered on the 10th of June 1896 as Blair & Co., Alloa Ltd. The principal shareholders were Alexander McNab, distiller and proprietor of the Glenochil Distillery at Menstrie, Angus Wingate, brewer of Alloa, James Harvey, brewer of Alloa, John Harvey, distiller of the Carsebridge Distillery at Alloa, and John Dalziel, C.A. of Edinburgh, Company Secretary.
The Harvey and Wingate families eventually assumed sole control of the company. This company went into voluntary liquidation in January 1936, being re-registered as Blair & Co. (Alloa) Ltd. Angus Wingate, who had been with Blairs since 1896, was co-opted onto the new board, but he died in 1937.
The brewery was situated between Shillinghill and Primrose Place (a lane off Primrose Street) in Alloa, at the end of a narrow street called Back O' Dykes.
By 1936 the brewery had a capacity of over 30,000 barrels of beer per annum, with an average production rate at around 540 barrels per week. In 1948 a replacement bottling plant was installed.
Soon after the company sought to consolidate it's position in the tied trade, and acquire more tied houses. In September 1954 capital was increased with the acquisition of brewers Robert Knox (Cambus) Ltd, of the Forth Brewery, Cambus, along with the majority stake held by Knox's in Ideal Taverns (Scotland) Ltd. The Forth Brewery was closed by
Blair's in December 1954. The Forth Brewery was re-opened briefly in July 1955 and closed for the last time in August 1955. Blair & Co. bought the remaining shares in Ideal Taverns (Scotland) Ltd in 1957 (Knox had been the majority Shareholder).
The total number of tied houses had increased to approximately twenty by the late 1950's.
In 1959 an unexpected bid was made for the company. As a result it was decided to approach Alloa brewers, George Younger, to see if they could make a better offer. Although the Younger bid was accepted, no agreement was reached regarding the future of either the Townhead Brewery or its staff, and accordingly the Blair & Co. brewery was closed soon after takeover. No further use was made of the Townhead Brewery and the company was wound up in January 1962.
The Townhead Brewery has since been demolished, along with the Back O' Dykes Street, now forming part of the Ring Road car park. Primrose Place still exists, allowing access to the rear of the Spiers Centre and the ring road car park from Primrose Street.
References:
Breweryhistory.com
Archives.jisc.ac.uk
Fotki.com (Dray picture)
Alloa Ale - A History of the Brewing Industry in Alloa - Charles McMaster