Thomas Millar was the son of a local tanner and merchant, and was described as a student brewer in 1881. By 1882 he had taken on the tenancy of the Ladywell Brewery at a rental of £100 per annum from Lawrence Lyall. However, his career as a brewer was short-lived.
In 1885 he applied, unsuccessfully, to the Musselburgh Valuation Appeal Court to be relieved of taxes as "the brewery was vacant and dismantled" and he was not using it. He died later that year of enteric fever at the young age of 25. The brewery was then taken on by John Young & Co.
Location: Fisherrow
Active: 1882 - 1885
Status: Closed
The Ladywell Brewery stretched north from the High Street, on a long piece of land, to New Street. Most of the site has been cleared for a modern housing development, but the company offices survive on the High Street, converted to private residences.
Books and periodicals
Anon. Musselburgh Valuation Appeal Court. Edinburgh Evening News, 11th September, 1885.
Lawrie, J. Honesty brewing: a history of the breweries, maltings and distilleries of Musselburgh and Fisherrow. Kennoway: Spiderwize, 2009.
