Ind Archaeol Rev 31 (1)

Explores the places created and used to develop and manufacture many of the products that were portrayed as representing the rebirth of post-war Britain as a major industrial power. Notes that many of the new industries were based on technologies developed in the Second World War (including radar, jet and rocket engines, and military and civil atomic power) and that, politically, the World Wars had left a legacy of heavy government involvement in scientific research establishments and the state as the main customer for their products. Argues that this relationship was strengthened in the post-war decades as the development of high-tech weaponry was seen as one means of countering the growing threat from the Soviet Union and its allies.

In 2005, Abercorn Archaeology LLP excavated parts of the former distillery (founded in 1780 and mothballed and re-opened several times before finally closing in 1848), concentrating on the still house. Remains of six still bases considered to derive from three phases of construction were recorded, together with the footings of a worm tub and a large basement structure. It is suggested that the excavations have clarified the evolution of the distillery, confirming that large lowland distilleries of the period were dynamic enterprises, frequently adapted in the light of the challenges facing the industry.