East Laroch Quarry, Ballachulish slate quarries, Argyll.

Slate, on a larger scale that seen on Arran!

The Ballachulish quarries were opened by Mr Stewart of Ballachulish in 1693. By 1793, they employed 322 men, and exported to England, Ireland and America. Towards 1900, a workforce of 600 produced 26 million slates yearly.
East Laroch quarry was the last of the Ballachilish quarries to be worked, and closed in 1955. In the distance is a harbour made of quarry waste, and a few of the workers' cottages which, in the late 18th century, would have housed 72 families.
The Scottish slate industry flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries on the Argyll seaboard and its offshore islands. The industry declined sharply in the early 20th century.
Further information may be found in CANMORE, the Royal Commission's searchable online database, at http://www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore.html.

SCRAN ID: 000-299-997-954-C; RCAHMS