Bonawe
| Bonawe Gaelic: Bun Abha | |
| Argyllshire | |
|---|---|
 Bonawe Iron Furnace | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NN002340 |
| Location: | 56°27’5"N, 5°14’5"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Oban |
| Postcode: | PA37 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Argyll and Bute |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Argyll and Bute |
Bonawe is a village in Ardchattan Parish in Argyllshire, standing on the north shore of Loch Etive opposite Taynuilt. The village is best known for J & A Gardener's Bonawe Quarry - now owned by Breedon Aggregates Scotland Ltd. Bonawe is primarily a linear settlement along on the B845 road and the coast. The iron furnace is at Bonawe in Glenorchy & Inishail Parish across Loch Etive near Taynuilt in Muckairn Parish.
The name of the place is from the Gaelic Bun Abha, meaning "the mouth of the River Awe".
Bonawe Quarry
In the early 1900s there were 1,000 people living in Bonawe. The hub of this community was the Bonawe Quarry which still operates to this day. In those days there were stonemasons, drillers and miners extracting the stone and of course their families and support industries such as local shops, butchers, bowling greens, a cinema, bakeries and laundry. Modern technology has advanced however such that very few people are needed for the quarry and commuting to he towns is practical: as a result there are no shops left in Bonawe.
Kenmore Cottages
Kenmore Cottages is a small village just two minutes away from the school and a 10-minute walk from the quarry. There is 27 houses in the horseshoe-shaped village. Other than that, there are some houses near the quarry and on the road to Oban, but many are ruins.
History
The village grew with the development of the quarry. The quarry still operates, but with far fewer hands.
There was once a ferry crossing at Bonawe, from Eilean Duirinnis, known as the "Penny Ferry".
Lorn Furnace
- Main article: Bonawe Iron Furnace
Lorn Furnace or Bonawe Furnace is located across the loch, in Glenorchy and Innishail Parish, between the rivers Awe and Nant, close to Taynuilt Village in Muckairn Parish from which the Nant separates it. It was built in 1753 by Richard Ford & Co. (the Newland Company) from Furness in Lancashire, to use Furness haematite ore with local charcoal. The same company operated the furnace until 1876.[1] The site is now in the guardianship of Historic Scotland.[2]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bonawe) |
References
- ↑ P. Riden, Gazetteer of the Charcoal-fired blast furnaces in Great Britain in use since 1660 (Merton Priory Press, Cardiff, 1993), 147-9.
- ↑ Bonawe Historic Iron Furnace: Historic Scotland
