Ballachulish

(Laroch, West Laroch, East Laroch)

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Ballachulish (Gael. bail- a - ehaolais, ` town of the strait '), a large but straggling village of Lismore and Appin parish, Argyllshire, extending along the southern shore of salt-water Loch Leven, on either side of the Laroch river, up to the month of Glencoe. Its central point, the bridge over the Laroch, is 1¾ mile WSW of Bridge of Coe, 23/8 miles ESE of Ballachulish Ferry, and 16½ S of Fort William; by coach and steamer Ballachulish in summer has constant communication with Tyndrum and Oban, and so with all parts of Scotland. At Ballachulish Ferry, where the entrance of Loch Leven narrows to 1 furlong, stands an excellent hotel; the steamboat pier is 1 mile further W; and the village has a post and telegraph office under Glencoe, an Established mission church (enlarged 1880), a Free church, St John's Episcopal church (1842-48; congregation, 600) in pseudo Early English style, and St Mum's Roman Catholic church (1836; 100 sittings). A public and an. Episcopal school, accommodating 58 and 126 children, had (1879) an attendance of 67 and 84, and grants of £48,12s. and £28,10s. Pop. of village (1871) 944; of Glencoe and Ballachulish registration district (1871) 1529, (1881) 1441. ` The slate quarries,' to quote from Trans. Highl. and Ag. Soc. (1878), p. 77, ` were commenced about 1760, and at present are worked with great vigour under the trustees of the late Sir George Beresford. The vein of slate, which is at an angle of 80°, stretches S and E from the shore along the side of Meall Mor (2215 feet), and then runs into the centre of it. The face of the rock is laid open by workings fronting N and W, the inclination of the vein being towards the E. The workings of the main or E quarries are conducted in four levels, above the common highway, and three sinkings, making an aggregate working face of 436 feet in depth - an increase of 230 feet since 1843. The W end workings are conducted upon a similar method-one with 3 upper levels, and 2 depths of sinkings. Recently there have been several new quarries opened, which promise well. The material from the upper parts is conveyed from the respective levels by powerful brake-drums, the weight of the loaded waggons descending taking up the empty waggons without difficulty. Material from the sinkings is taken up to the surface in inclined planes by 3 stationary engines, which, by auxiliary gearing, keep the sinkings free of water-no small matter in such a rainy district, and with such great watersheds. The rock, after being quarried, is conveyed partly by railway locomotives. In all the workings there are from 10 to 11 miles of firm and permanent lines of iron rails used, and 130 substantial iron waggons. For deep boring a powerful patent rock drill is put to work to rend the hill into pretty large blocks, which are afterwards easily disposed of by the regular manual process, i.e., one man, in a half- recumbent position, regulating the boring - drill, while another wields a large hammer, doing great execution. At times this process would appear alarming to the inexperienced spectator, inasmuch as the operators are slung at giddy heights by ropes twisted round their bodies, the pressure of which, combined with physical exertions required in the manual toil, must prove no mean test of their strong test of their strong and healthy frames. The slate-making portions, or " blocks, " are conveyed on " lines " along the banks formed by the refuse, and laid down at little sheds where they are, by one man, split up to the required thickness, and, by another, cut into shape, after which they are ready for export. There are three safe and commodious shipping harbours, all formed by the banks of rubbish projecting into the sea in arms of two to each harbour, thus completely sheltering vessels in any weather. The slates are of a deep blue colour, and spangled with pyrites, called by the workmen " diamonds; " and these gold-coloured drops are so incorporated with the slate that they cannot be separated from it. The slates are allowed to possess in a pre-eminent degree all the qualities of permanence of colour and durability of material essential to roof slates. There are five different descriptions of slates made, viz., queens, duchesses, countesses, sizables, and undersized. The annual production of manufactured slates is 28,000 to 30,000 tons, or, in numbers, 16,000,000 to 17,000,000. There are over 600 men employed in the works, earning from 20s. to 40s. per week. '—Ord. Sur., sh. 53,1877.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer

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