The partnership of Watson & Brown was formed by James Watson and John Brown in 1824, who had both been maltsters in Newton and Wallacetown respectively. They established a successful brewing business at the Wallacetown Brewery which had been established by James's father in 1818. They also took on the old Ayr Brewery after John Ramsay was declared bankrupt in 1825.
In 1833 they moved their operations across the river to Ayr, to a newly built 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
James Watson established what became known as the Wallacetown Brewery in 1818 in premises acquired from Joseph Wilson on the corner of Garden Street and Cross Street. The buildings have since been demolished and the site is occupied by a modern housing development.
The old Ayr Brewery was built by John Ramsay on John Street. The probable site has been cleared and is now occupied by modern housing.
The new 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.
