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The beautifully coloured
green and white marble from Iona has for centuries been said to be
endowed with supernatural powers. It is not easy to find the quarry as
there is no distinct path - but it is well worth the effort to do so.
Directions to the marble
quarry: The best way to reach the quarry is to follow the path to
St. Columba's Bay. Turn off the path at the ruin a short distance south
of Loch Staoineig. Walk in an easterly direction, watching out for a
grassy gully with two small ruined houses (these were the homes of the
quarrymen). The quarry is at the bottom of this gully. The route can be
marshy and it's easy to trip - so proceed with care.
About the marble quarry:
The remains of the marble
quarry is located at a small inlet on the south east of the island
between Port Carnan a' Ghille and Sloc Ba Fetta. The Iona Marble was in
operation from around 1745 - owned by the Earl of Breadalbane who
founded the Marble and Slate Company of Netherlorn.
The quarry did not remain in operation for long because the marble was
difficult to extract and, due to the remote location, transport was
uneconomical. There was a further attempt to mine marble in the 1800s -
the Argyll Quarry Company, hoped to extract the stone on an industrial
scale. This failed - again due to the difficulty of safely shipping from
this location.
The quarry was reopened again in 1907 but closed for the last time at
the end of World War I.
When you visit the quarry you will see the rusted remains of a large
winch and cable, a cutting frame, water tank, gas engine and a wheeled
platform. There are also huge cut blocks of marble left as they were
cut.
The quarry is an important
site and is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Here is an extract from
Historic Scotland's Website:
Iona Marble Quarry, quarry
NE of An t-Aird
Description
The monument consists of the remains of a marble quarry and of its
associated equipment and buildings. When first scheduled in 1992, it was
wrongly located on the map. This re-scheduling corrects that error. The
remains include a stone saw, gas engine, gas producer, countershaft,
hand crane of derrick type, rail trolleys, water tank and quay, together
with waste heaps. The cutting saw and some other of the machinery is
known to have stood within a building when the quarry was in production.
In the SE of the area there are various mortared wall fragments and
metal fixings set into these and into rock outcrops, which appear to
have been connected with the derrick crane on the quay. The quarry
stands in a ravine, both sides of which appear to have been worked for
marble.
At the N end of the area, further up the ravine in which the quarry
lies, stand the remains of two buildings. One, of stone-built rubble
construction, is known in Gaelic as 'the ruined house of the
lowlanders'.
It appears to have been used by quarrymen active in the late 18th
century. Close by are the stone and concrete footings of a later
building, thought to be contemporary with the use of the quarry during
the early 20th century. It is said that this acted as a bunkhouse for
the quarrymen and that the metal superstructure survives in use, having
been moved to Baile Mor. The main period of use of the quarry lasted
from 1905 to 1914, since when marble has not been quarried on Iona on an
extensive scale.
The scheduled area is irregular in shape, measuring approximately 215m
N-S by a maximum of 80m E-W. This includes the quarry and its worked
faces, the surviving machinery, and an area where evidence may survive
of earlier working, and in which evidence relating to the use of the
quarry may survive. This area is shown in red on the accompanying map
extract.
National Importance
The monument is of national importance as the only known quarry of early
20th century date still retaining original stoneworking and handling
equipment. Marble quarrying is rare in Scotland, but Iona was briefly
celebrated for it. The seam of marble has been known for many centuries,
and the visible remains may conceal evidence of working of the medieval
or earlier period.
Click on the link for full
details :
Historic Scotland
Map showing location of
Iona marble quarry
Iona marble quarry
Old Machinery at the
Marble Quarry Iona
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