The partnership of Watson & Brown was formed by John Brown and James Watson in 1824, who had both been maltsters in Newton and Wallacetown respectively. They established a successful brewing business at the first Ayr Brewery in Wallacetown..
In 1833 they moved their operations across the river to Ayr, where they built a new Ayr Brewery in Mill Street.
The partnership was dissolved in 1850, and James then carried on the business as James Watson & Son.
John Brown went on to run his own business as a malt and ale merchant until his death in 1853.
Location: Ayr
Active: 1824 - 1850
Status: Dissolved
The Ayr Brewery was built by the partnership of Watson & Brown in 1833 on land formerly owned by the Dominicans on Mill Vennel, later known as Mill Street.
The site was cleared in the 1970s and is now occupied by housing.
Books and periodicals
Close, R. The forgotten breweries of Scotland: Turner's Ayr and Newton Breweries Ltd. Scottish Brewing Archive Newsletter, 1987, 10, pp.10-12.
Hume, J. R. The industrial archaeology of Scotland, 1: The Lowlands and Borders. London: B. T. Batsford, 1976.
