Langholm Distillery was established in 1765, making it one of Scotland’s oldest whisky distilleries.

Located just south of the town by the River Esk, it became a paper mill in 1795 to 1818 but then reverted to being a distillery, producing up to 46,000 gallons per year.

It made a single malt with a smooth texture, partly attributed to its water source from the nearby Whita Well, which was at one point the focus of a pitched battle over a dispute about water rights between the distillery and the town.

From the early 1930s, the distillery was owned by John Connell (1796-1876), then by his son Arthur (1830-1918).

Arthur had a large house constructed in the 1860s which he called St Thorwald’s, overlooking the town.

The distillery struggled to obtain sufficient barley supplies after the start of the Great War and closed permanently in 1917.