Pimlico's Lost Distillery

Posted on 2008/11/15 09:56:49 (November 2008).

I did a bit of research into local history the other night. Spurred on by a visit to a local pub, I had a look around on the web for some old maps of London.

Pimlico, the area where I live in London, was mostly fields 200 years ago, but intriguingly on an 1832 map I noticed a building marked "distillery", very close to where I now live. Further investigation suggested this was called Millbank Distillery, owned by Seager, Evans and Co. Ltd., a partnership between Messrs William Evans and James Lys Seager.

The distillery was founded in the early 1800s - some references suggested 1805, and it remained there until the 1920s when they moved their production to Deptford, although they kept the name Millbank. Their most famous product seems to have been Seagers Gin which I believe was produced up until the 1960s.

James Lys Seager's Grandson, Sir Frederick Seager Hunt was also involved in the business from the 1840s onwards and took over on the death of his Grandfather in 1873. He became a Member of Parliament in 1885, and so presumably most of the day-to-day running of the business was handled by one of the other partners from then on.

A caricature of Sir Frederick was included in Vanity Fair, dated May 18, 1893. The accompanying biographical passage read as follows:

STATESMEN. No. 613

SIR FREDERICK SEAGER HUNT, BART.

JAMES EDWARD HUNT of Cromwell Road (who was quite an eminent railway contractor) married Eliza, daughter of James Lys Seager, Esquire, and had issue two sons and three daughters; of whom the eldest (who is the first Baronet of this ancient family) was born at Chippenham five-and-fifty years ago. They taught him scholastically at Westminster, and more broadly in India, where he travelled in his youth; and among other things he acquired, or developed, a capacity for business that has since made him in more than one way. For he is now the head of the firm Seager, Evans and Co., of Millbank (which was founded by his maternal grandfather), a director of Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, a Governor of the Westminster Bluecoat School, Chairman of a big Tory organisation and of the United Westminster Almshouses, a Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of London, and Patron of the living of Charmouth, in Dorset. He is also one of the founders of the Primrose League as well as one of Lord Salisbury's Baronets of last year; and having once been defeated for Marylebone in 1880, he has now gone back to Westminster, where he has most constitutionally represented the Western Division of that district for the last eight years.

Although he is now a rich man, he still goes to business daily. He is something of a sportsman, for he is a member of the Four-in-Hand Club, who is very fond of driving four horses at once, and President of the North of the Thames Licensed Victuallers' Cricket Club; which is the biggest amateur thing of its kind in England. Yet he no longer plays cricket. He has done more service to his Party than is ordinarily represented by Baronetcy; for not long ago he was royally "dined" and rewarded by a spontaneous presentation in recognition of his really great services in organising the London Boroughs. He is no orator, and when he is (very occasionally) moved to speak he shows the swaying nervousness that becomes the honest, modest man. He is very popular with the "Trade"; he has a cheery, inspiring face, and he is the husband of a very attractive cousin.

He has shown that he is an inveterate Tory by becoming member of no fewer than four Tory clubs; yet he is so good a fellow that, even in Westminster bear-garden, no decent man has found a word to say against him. He is generous; and, despite the fact he is a distiller, he is a gentleman. He knows a good cigar when he gets it.

It seems that four producers of London Gin were dominant in the 19th Century - Seager Evans, James Burroughs, Booth's and Gilbey's. James Burroughs produced the gin we know today as Beefeater. In fact Beefeater is the only real survivor of these four one time giants - all of the other three have now ceased production in the UK - Gilbey's was bought by Diageo and moved to the US, Booth's was also bought by Diageo and appears to have (relatively recently) disappeared altogether, and whilst there is a gin called Seagers produced in New Zealand, it is unclear if there is any connection.

That aside, information about either Seagers Gin or Millbank Distillery seemed to be actually fairly sparse on the web. Searching for the gin itself generally led to pages with "nostalgic merchandise" for the brand. I was actually rather taken with this rather fetching tray from c. 1950 which included a picture of Millbank distillery, albeit of course by that time the new premises in Deptford. I also found myself at one point at the rather excitingly titled Corkscrews Online, and I have ordered a very handsome Seagers Gin / Millbank Distillery corkscrew from there.

A bit more looking around on the web revealed that Seager, Evans and Co had acquired the Laphroaig distillery in the 1960s, before eventually being swallowed up, Russian Doll style, into a succession of conglomerates - I think they ultimately became part of Whitbread. So that was a nice discovery - that there was a gin distillery which had been right on my doorstep, that had a connection with one of my favourite whisky distilleries in Scotland.

Up until fairly recently a company called Hayman's (who used to make) produced a "Pimlico Gin" - I think it mostly sold overseas - but alas that too has now gone out of production. I even contacted the company to double check a while back. I wonder if that was in some way a homage to the original distillery where Seagers was made.

It is interesting that a lot of gins today refer to themselves as a "London Dry Gin" and yet are there actually any gin distilleries left in London?

Being primarily a whisky fan, I've read a lot about the history of the whisky industry. It seems in malt territory a large amount of research goes into closed distilleries and there is a strong sense of nostalgia - if that is the right word - within the whisky community about these "lost distilleries".

I imagine gin is considered to be much more of a generic product, and doesn't seem to attract nearly the same level of interest as whisky does, particularly where closed distilleries are concerned. It's a shame really - given that gin is the only spirit England can lay claim to, and as my recent trip to New York revealed it does actually seem to be quite popular overseas.

So I consider this my personal mission - I shall continue trying to find out more about Pimlico's "lost distillery".

Did you know that those Russian Nesting dolls probably originated in Japan?

Posted by John's Mum at 2008/11/18 10:43:22.

Post a comment