Slate was once one of the most important building materials
produced in Scotland.
Scottish slates still cover the roofs of many of our traditional buildings.
But despite the vast amounts of slate in Scottish quarries
there's a problem.
There has been no slate production in Scotland for over 50 years.
Scotland's slates are fast running out.
A team from Historic Environment Scotland
has travelled to the Isle of Bute, off the west coast of Scotland.
The island once had several productive slate quarries.
What we are trying to do here today
is to revive a small part of the craft industry
of slate production in Scotland.
What we would like to achieve with this pilot
is to put a spotlight back on the slate industry
and slate production.
The long-term aim would hopefully be to see if we can develop
a small craft enterprise somewhere in Scotland.
Scotland has an incredibly diverse geology,
and where ever you go in Scotland
the built heritage reflects that diversity.
The island of Bute lies on the Highland Boundary Fault
and the four key areas of slate resources in Scotland
all lie between the Highland Boundary Fault
and the Great Glen Fault to the north.
Scotland slate industry began on the Island of Easdale
in the 16th century.
These islands are known as the islands that roofed the world.
From here, slates were sent across the globe
to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Towards the end of the 19th century from about the 1860's,
Ballachulish where we are now, here at the head of Glencoe,
became the dominant slate quarry in Scotland,
and indeed, became known as the slate capital of Scotland.
The geology at Ballachulish produces a particularly strong slate,
which is highly durable and weather resistant.
Scotland's slates vary in size and width
so they are laid with the larger slates
at the bottom of the roof and the small slates up at the top.
In a practise, it's called diminishing courses.
The practise of laying slates in diminishing courses
is what gives Scottish roofs
their distinct character and appearance.
Imported slates don't have this character,
they are a lot more uniform and smooth
so they destroy this traditional look.
On Bute, the team have been exploring old quarries
for a new source of slate.
Today, we are at Ardmaleish Point on the Isle of Bute
looking at one of the old quarries.
There are three processes to produce the slates.
You would have the quarryman.
He would be pulling it out with bars,
producing rock useable for the slate splitter
who would use a lump hammer and a splitting chisel.
The splitter would split the rock into manageable sizes.
Then you would have the slate dresser
who would use a slate knife and a break iron,
to produce that dressed edge and shape the slates.
Today, we are the grounds of Mount Stuart
at the Learning Studio.
We were in the quarry yesterday.
We extracted a quantity of slate block
that we are now hoping to process into roofing slates.
What's happening behind me is a "Rock to Roof" event
where we are splitting the slate,
and dressing the slate ready to put onto a roof.
Due to the decline in the slate industry in Scotland
we have lost many of these skills.
The people saying...
Slate experts Richard Jordon and Peter McClusky
are keen to pass on their knowledge and skills.
Andrew, do you want to come and have a go?
All right.
Dressing slates.
It's definitely the first time I have done this
but it was fun 'cause something different
don't usually get to do stuff like this.
If there was an opportunity, I'd try it.
We desperately need new Scots slate.
Because at the moment,
we are in the ludicrous situation
where we import a huge amounts of slate
when we have vast reserves of our own.
The fantastic thing about slate
particularly in these carbon conscious times
is that it's entirely natural.
It's not been processed or manufactured.
It's a natural material. It's a zero carbon product.
With Scotland slates running out, Scotland has to import all its slate
from as far away as China or South America
at great environmental cost.
All this when we have some of the best slate
for Scottish roofs right beneath our feet.
There is no reason why we can't start
these industries again in the same way,
so I'm sure there is scope for this sort of enterprise.
Historic Environment Scotland's ground breaking pilot
on the Isle of Bute highlights the urgent need
for the revival of the Scottish slate industry.
We are losing the character of our historic environment
as we gradually replace traditional Scottish slates
with imported slates.
As the world become more aware of climate change,
the revival of the Scottish slate industry
can play an important part in helping traditional buildings,
support the drive to net zero
and the delivery of our 2045 carbon targets.
As Scotland moves toward a net zero carbon economy,
a revived Scottish slate industry has the real potential
to be an important part of that future.