John Pearson went into partnership with his brother-in-law John Simpson, a local writer, in 1837, and established the Bathgate Brewery.
They operated the brewery, under the name John Pearson & Co, until around 1838, when the two partners were declared bankrupts. A final dividend was paid to creditors in 1840.
Mr M. Wallace subsequently bought the Bathgate Brewery for £600 in the 1840s.
Location: Bathgate
Active: 1837 - 1838
Status: Bankrupt
The Bathgate Brewery was established in the old tanworks in Chapel Lane. After its sale in the late 1860s it became the site of the West Lothian Flint Glassworks. Following a fire in 1924, the site was cleared for housing and new commercial buildings.
Archives
The National Records of Scotland holds a valuation and inventory of John Pearson's brewing and farming assets (Ref : CS96/4749).
Books and periodicals
Gibb, F. The brewers and breweries of Linlithgowshire. Stirling: Lomax Press, 2009.
Sprightly, S. Rambles round Bathgate: Ramble XXII - Buildings. The West Lothian Courier, 17th August, 1878.
