INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
A few years ago, on the recommendation of a local artist, I made a visit to Easdale, a small island off the coast of Argyll. Now a sleepy, rural destination for staycationers, it was once the epicentre of the 19th century slate quarrying industry. Together with her sisters Seil, Luing, Lunga, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua, Easdale became one of “the islands that roofed the world” – as 400 men gouged at the rock with gunpowder and pickaxes, producing enough slate to fill 10 steamers a week.
That’s long over, of course. One stormy night in 1881, a freak tide broached the sea walls and flooded
