Glensanda
Encyclopedia
Glensanda was a Viking
settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda on the Morvern peninsula
within south west Lochaber
, overlooking the Isle of Lismore
and Loch Linnhe
in the western Highlands of Scotland
.
Glensanda Castle (Caisteal Na Gruagaich (Maiden's Castle); overlooks the mouth of the Glensanda River which tumbles down 400 metres along its 5 mile journey from 'Caol Bheinn' into Loch Linnhe. The castle was the main base of the Macleans
of Kingairloch (Kingerloch) since the 15th century, but the population fell from 500 to zero after 1812 when they emigrated to Pictou
, Nova Scotia
.
The remoteness of the Glensanda settlement is such that there are no road, rail, or marked footway links across the granite
mountain, moor, heather and peat bog of the private Glensanda estate. The only practical access is by boat from the shores of Loch Linnhe.
Since 1982 the 2,400 hectare 'Glensanda Estate' has been the home of the Glensanda Superquarry operated by the Aggregate Industries
group, which mines the Meall na Easaiche mountain, shipping up to 6,000,000 tons of granite aggregates all over the world annually, and with reserves for up to 100 years.
, a Gaelic
over-kingdom of the western seaboard of Scotland
, in the late 6th and early 7th century. According to Professor William J. Watson
the Morvern
district was formerly known as Kinelvadon, from the Cenél Báetáin, a subdivision of the Cenél Loairn.
Glensanda was a Viking
settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda The Vikings are thought to have led their first raids on what is now modern Scotland
by the early 8th century AD. Their first known attack was on the holy island of Iona
in 794, just 40 miles west. The end of the Viking Age
proper in Scotland is generally considered to be in 1266.
Glensanda Castle is variously known as Caisteal Na Gruagaich (Maiden's castle), Castle Na'gair, Castle-en-Coer, Castle Mearnaig. It was built in the late 15th century by Ewen MacLean
, 5th of Kingairloch, who was born circa 1450. Glensanda, a part of Ardgour
, has formed part of the territory of the Clan MacLean ever since the Clan MacMaster was removed from the territory in the 15th Century. The castle was the main base of the Clan Maclean
of Kingairloch (Kingerloch), and supported a thriving community of circa 500 people until around 1780 when they seem to have moved 5 miles north to Connach (Kingairloch), at the head of Loch a' Choire (Loch Corry).
In the late 17th century the massacre of the MacDonald clansmen marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 century the Campbells had gained possession of most of the MacLean estates. Clan Maclean participated in the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746, supporting the House of Stuart
and the Jacobite cause. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden
. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada
, the United States
, Australia
and New Zealand
.
In 1812 Sir Hector Maclean
(the 7th Baronet of Morvern
and 23rd Chief of the Clan Maclean
) emigrated with almost the entire population of 500 to Pictou
, Nova Scotia
, Canada
. Thus the Macleans appear not to have been involved in Highland Clearances
. Sir Hector is buried in the cemetery at Pictou.
English landowner, James Forbes (1753–1829), of Hutton Hall, Essex
, bought the estate from Sir Hector Maclean in 1812 and subsequently had the existing house at Connach extended to become the first Kingairloch House. James Forbes daughter Charlotte married Major-General Sir Charles Bruce, KCB
to become Lady Bruce, and was the mother of Charlotte Campbell-Bannerman
(1836–1906) the wife of Henry Campbell-Bannerman
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
.
In 1888 (or 1881) the estate was purchased by John Bell Sherriff, Esquire of Carronvale, a distiller and industrialist from Glasgow
and Falkirk
for £30,140.
In 1902 George Herbert Strutt
(1854–1928), a 5th generation cotton tycoon from Belper
, Derbyshire
, and descendant of Jedediah Strutt
, bought the Glensanda and Kingairloch estates. In 1930 Arthur Strutt (1908–1977) married Patricia Kebbell (20 October 1911-July 2000), daughter of a New Zealand sheep farmer, and granddaughter of John Cameron a Scottish cattle drover from Corrychoillie, Spean Bridge
having been introduced by his sisters who were attending the same Swiss
Finishing school
. Arthur Strutt died on the estate in 1977 although his body was not found for five years. Mrs Strutt was a renowned stag
hunter, having shot circa 2,000 between 1930 and her death, more than any other woman in Great Britain
.
The final solitary resident of Glensanda died around the 1950s. By the 1980s Glensanda comprised the ruined tower of the 15th century castle, a couple of derelict cottages, and a wrecked cattle shed. It was known as "the Larder
of Lorne
" to poachers of Red Deer
and salmon
.
John Yeoman and his wife Angela of Foster Yeoman
bought the Glensanda estate from Mrs Strutt in 1982, and the Kingairloch estate in 1989, but she retained the hunting rights of both estates.
In 2006 Foster Yeoman was wholly acquired by the Holcim
Group and is now part of its Aggregate Industries
subsidiary and is no longer family owned.
, USA. Granite is extracted by the "Glory Hole" and conveyor belt method, a pioneering development in alternative quarrying technology.
To minimise visual impact from the coast the quarry is sited a mile inland, and cut down into the mountain 1,600 feet above sea level. Each explosive blast dislodges about 70,000 tons of granite which is transported by dump truck to the primary crusher, which reduces it to lumps no bigger than nine inches in diameter. It is then transferred by conveyor belt to a heap that covers the Glory Hole, a 1,000 ft vertical shaft 10 ft in diameter, which is permanently full of rocks. At the base of the glory hole, deep inside the mountain, rocks are transferred to a horizontal conveyor and moved through a mile long tunnel to the second crusher on the shore where ocean going ships are loaded in the deep-water docks at the rate of 6,000 tons per hour.
Approximately 160 employees either live on site or commute by boat from Barcaldine, near Oban
. Exports go to Amsterdam
, Hamburg
, Rostock
and Swinoujscie
, in Poland
, as well as the Isle of Grain
in the Thames estuary
.
Reserves of granite are estimated to last at least until the year 2100, when the excavation will have created a new corrie
a mile and a half square and 400 feet deep.
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda on the Morvern peninsula
Morvern
Morvern is a peninsula in south west Lochaber, on the west coast of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne . The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches in elevation....
within south west Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
, overlooking the Isle of Lismore
Lismore, Scotland
Lismore is a partially Gaelic speaking island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. This fertile, low-lying island was once a major centre of Celtic Christianity, with a monastery founded by Saint Moluag and the seat of the Bishop of Argyll.-Geography:...
and Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland....
in the western Highlands of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Glensanda Castle (Caisteal Na Gruagaich (Maiden's Castle); overlooks the mouth of the Glensanda River which tumbles down 400 metres along its 5 mile journey from 'Caol Bheinn' into Loch Linnhe. The castle was the main base of the Macleans
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
of Kingairloch (Kingerloch) since the 15th century, but the population fell from 500 to zero after 1812 when they emigrated to Pictou
Pictou, Nova Scotia
Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
The remoteness of the Glensanda settlement is such that there are no road, rail, or marked footway links across the granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
mountain, moor, heather and peat bog of the private Glensanda estate. The only practical access is by boat from the shores of Loch Linnhe.
Since 1982 the 2,400 hectare 'Glensanda Estate' has been the home of the Glensanda Superquarry operated by the Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group, is an aggregates, construction and building materials group, with its base in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Holcim in 2005.-History:...
group, which mines the Meall na Easaiche mountain, shipping up to 6,000,000 tons of granite aggregates all over the world annually, and with reserves for up to 100 years.
History
Little is known of the glen before the Viking age when it was part of Dál RiataDál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
, a Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
over-kingdom of the western seaboard of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in the late 6th and early 7th century. According to Professor William J. Watson
William J. Watson
Professor William J. Watson was a toponymist, one of the greatest Scottish scholars of the 20th century, and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis....
the Morvern
Morvern
Morvern is a peninsula in south west Lochaber, on the west coast of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne . The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches in elevation....
district was formerly known as Kinelvadon, from the Cenél Báetáin, a subdivision of the Cenél Loairn.
Glensanda was a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda The Vikings are thought to have led their first raids on what is now modern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
by the early 8th century AD. Their first known attack was on the holy island of Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
in 794, just 40 miles west. The end of the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
proper in Scotland is generally considered to be in 1266.
Glensanda Castle is variously known as Caisteal Na Gruagaich (Maiden's castle), Castle Na'gair, Castle-en-Coer, Castle Mearnaig. It was built in the late 15th century by Ewen MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
, 5th of Kingairloch, who was born circa 1450. Glensanda, a part of Ardgour
Ardgour
Ardgour is a district of Lochaber on Ardnamurchan peninisula on the western shore of Loch Linnhe, in Highland Scotland.The term Ardgour, together with Kingairloch, is applied to a large area of countryside around the village, from the Glensanda Superquarry, Kingairloch and Kilmalieu in the south...
, has formed part of the territory of the Clan MacLean ever since the Clan MacMaster was removed from the territory in the 15th Century. The castle was the main base of the Clan Maclean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
of Kingairloch (Kingerloch), and supported a thriving community of circa 500 people until around 1780 when they seem to have moved 5 miles north to Connach (Kingairloch), at the head of Loch a' Choire (Loch Corry).
In the late 17th century the massacre of the MacDonald clansmen marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 century the Campbells had gained possession of most of the MacLean estates. Clan Maclean participated in the Jacobite Uprisings of 1745 to 1746, supporting the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
and the Jacobite cause. Many members of the clan were killed fighting at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
. Many MacLeans dispersed to other countries such as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
In 1812 Sir Hector Maclean
Sir Hector Maclean, 7th Baronet
Sir Hector Maclean, 7th Baronet of Morvern was the 23rd Clan Chief of Clan Maclean who died before he had any children, and the title passed to his half brother.-Biography:...
(the 7th Baronet of Morvern
Maclean Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Maclean, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
and 23rd Chief of the Clan Maclean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
) emigrated with almost the entire population of 500 to Pictou
Pictou, Nova Scotia
Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Thus the Macleans appear not to have been involved in Highland Clearances
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
. Sir Hector is buried in the cemetery at Pictou.
English landowner, James Forbes (1753–1829), of Hutton Hall, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, bought the estate from Sir Hector Maclean in 1812 and subsequently had the existing house at Connach extended to become the first Kingairloch House. James Forbes daughter Charlotte married Major-General Sir Charles Bruce, KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
to become Lady Bruce, and was the mother of Charlotte Campbell-Bannerman
Charlotte Campbell-Bannerman
Charlotte, Lady Campbell-Bannerman was the wife of British prime minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman.Sarah Charlotte Bruce was the daughter of Major-General Sir Charles Bruce, KCB, sometime Governor of Portsmouth, and his wife Charlotte, daughter of James Forbes, of Hutton Hall, Essex, and...
(1836–1906) the wife of Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
In 1888 (or 1881) the estate was purchased by John Bell Sherriff, Esquire of Carronvale, a distiller and industrialist from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
for £30,140.
In 1902 George Herbert Strutt
George Herbert Strutt
George Herbert Strutt , was a cotton mill owner and philanthropist from Makeney and Belper in Derbyshire. Strutt became a High Sheriff. He was a descendant of Jedediah Strutt. The Strutt family made themselves, and Britain, rich with their cotton business...
(1854–1928), a 5th generation cotton tycoon from Belper
Belper
Belper is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England.-Geography:Belper is situated eight miles north of Derby and is centred in the valley of the River Derwent...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, and descendant of Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt
Jedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings...
, bought the Glensanda and Kingairloch estates. In 1930 Arthur Strutt (1908–1977) married Patricia Kebbell (20 October 1911-July 2000), daughter of a New Zealand sheep farmer, and granddaughter of John Cameron a Scottish cattle drover from Corrychoillie, Spean Bridge
Spean Bridge
Spean Bridge is a village, in the Highland region of Scotland.The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between Fort William and Fort Augustus, and not from Telford's bridge of 1819 which carries the A82 over the river at the heart of the...
having been introduced by his sisters who were attending the same Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Finishing school
Finishing school
A finishing school is "a private school for girls that emphasises training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience, with classes primarily on etiquette...
. Arthur Strutt died on the estate in 1977 although his body was not found for five years. Mrs Strutt was a renowned stag
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
hunter, having shot circa 2,000 between 1930 and her death, more than any other woman in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
The final solitary resident of Glensanda died around the 1950s. By the 1980s Glensanda comprised the ruined tower of the 15th century castle, a couple of derelict cottages, and a wrecked cattle shed. It was known as "the Larder
Larder
A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use.Larders were commonplace in houses before the widespread use of the refrigerator.Essential qualities of a larder are that it should be:*as cool as possible*close to food preparation areas...
of Lorne
Sliced sausage
Sliced sausage, also known as Lorne sausage, flat sausage, square sausage or slice, it can also be referred to as slab as opposed to link, is a food product most often eaten in Scotland. Sausage meat – which may be pork or beef – is set into a square and sliced into pieces generally about square...
" to poachers of Red Deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
.
John Yeoman and his wife Angela of Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman Limited, based in the United Kingdom, is one of Europe's largest quarrying and asphalt companies, owned by Swiss construction materials conglomerate Holcim.-Company history:...
bought the Glensanda estate from Mrs Strutt in 1982, and the Kingairloch estate in 1989, but she retained the hunting rights of both estates.
In 2006 Foster Yeoman was wholly acquired by the Holcim
Holcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...
Group and is now part of its Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries
Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group, is an aggregates, construction and building materials group, with its base in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Holcim in 2005.-History:...
subsidiary and is no longer family owned.
Glensanda Super Quarry
In 1976 the UK Government commissioned Sir Ralph Verney to analyse the shortage of aggregates for building. The resulting "Verney report" led John Yeoman, Chairman of Foster Yeoman, to the idea of a super-quarry situated in a remote location from which stone could be exported by sea. To this end in 1982 he bought the 2,400 hectare Glensanda estate in Argyll from Mrs Patricia Strutt who also owned the Kingairloch estate which she also sold to Foster Yeoman in 1989. Glensanda went into operation in 1986 when the first shipload of granite left for Houston, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA. Granite is extracted by the "Glory Hole" and conveyor belt method, a pioneering development in alternative quarrying technology.
To minimise visual impact from the coast the quarry is sited a mile inland, and cut down into the mountain 1,600 feet above sea level. Each explosive blast dislodges about 70,000 tons of granite which is transported by dump truck to the primary crusher, which reduces it to lumps no bigger than nine inches in diameter. It is then transferred by conveyor belt to a heap that covers the Glory Hole, a 1,000 ft vertical shaft 10 ft in diameter, which is permanently full of rocks. At the base of the glory hole, deep inside the mountain, rocks are transferred to a horizontal conveyor and moved through a mile long tunnel to the second crusher on the shore where ocean going ships are loaded in the deep-water docks at the rate of 6,000 tons per hour.
Approximately 160 employees either live on site or commute by boat from Barcaldine, near Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
. Exports go to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and Swinoujscie
Swinoujscie
Świnoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast...
, in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, as well as the Isle of Grain
Isle of Grain
The Isle of Grain, in the north of Kent, England, is the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula. No longer an island, the Isle is almost all marshland and the Grain Marshes are an important habitat for birdlife...
in the Thames estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
.
Reserves of granite are estimated to last at least until the year 2100, when the excavation will have created a new corrie
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
a mile and a half square and 400 feet deep.