Priestfield Maltings

Driving back from Eden Mill, along the A914, I spotted 3 pagoda roofs in the distance. A wee nosey about revealed that the building, long since converted into housing, was once the site of Priestfield Maltings.

Not knowing anything about them, I made a pot of tea and got myself on to the interweb to find out…


With two malting floors and three kilns, Priestfield Maltings, in the small village of Pitlessie, produced over 2,000 tons of malt and employed 14 men when at its most productive.

The original date that the maltings was built is unknown although it appears on the 1893 OS Survey. It seems likely that it was originally built to provide malt for the local breweries; however, later on, it supplied distilleries with their malt requirements.

The maltings was owned by the Bonthrone family, who also owned Auchtermuchty (also known as Stratheden) distillery nearby (from 1829 to 1926). Priestfield Maltings was owned later on by Scottish Malt Distillers and operated until 1968, when it closed and the company moved to more cost effective, centralised malting.

The buildings were left disused until 1996 when the conversion to flats commenced.

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