The hamlet of Ballygrant is located in east of the island of Islay in Argyll and Bute. Situated on the main road crossing the island, from Port Askaig to Loch Indaal, the settlement lies to the west of Loch Ballygrant, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Port Askaig. Its name is derived from the Gaelic Baile a' Ghrà na meaning 'village of the grain' and indeed there are records of a mill on the Ballygrant Burn in 1686. This processed corn produced on the good agricultural land in this part of the island. There was still a mill operating here in the 1960s. By the 19th C., Ballygrant was at the centre of a series of small mines producing lead, copper and silver. A small whisky distillery operated here between 1818 and 1821, taking advantage of the freedoms given by the Small Stills Act of 1816. Ballygrant grew with the construction of a 'square' of public housing to the southwest in the 1960s. Today, the village benefits from a shop and post-office, while Ballygrant Quarry, to the south, is operated by the Dunlossit Estate and produces aggregate.
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