The background and history of Melfort and the Village

The village of Melfort at the head of Loch Melfort is situated in the part of Argyll known as Nether Lorn - "a land of weathered escarpments running south-westwards to end in chains of scattered islets and dark splintered reefs and skerries".

Numerous cairns, Iron-Age forts and dunes provide reminders of an ancient past, whilst several properties on the shores of Loch Melfort bear witness to the domination of the Campbell family in more recent times - Craignish Castle, Arduaine, Melfort, Ardenstur, Kilchoan, Degnish, and Ardmaddy were all at one time or another the property of various Campbell lairds.

The Campbells never had it easy in this "debatable land" and many a marauding band of raiders have left their memorials to these blood-thirsty days, often in the form of funeral cairns or standing stones.
In Gillies' book "Nether Lorn and Its Neighbourhood (1909)" we read of one such example of this:
"After his futile attempt upon Craignish Castle, Alexander MacDonald, in his progress northwards invaded Melfort. The Laird, John Campbell, was absent with his retainers in attendance upon Argyll, and his wife, endeavouring to appease the fierce enemies of her Clan, gave orders to have a sumptuous repast laid in the mansion house, then at Ardenstur, for their entertainment
while she and all the inhabitants hid themselves in the woods and mountain retreats. The hostile army, having arrived at the house, regaled themselves with the food andd drink provided and being in high good humour, MacDonald issued strict injunctions to his men not to meddle with any of Melfort's property. Shortly after leaving and as he ascended the pass over into the neighbouring district of Kilninver, he noticed the house in flames. In great fury he caused enquiry to be made and hanged three Irishmen who were found guilty upon a gallows erected upon the summit of the hill known as Kenmore at a place called Toma-Chrochaidh (The Mound of Hanging)."

Melfort Village Excavations

The village of Melfort itself has its own stories to tell. Whilst excavating the foundations for the existing site of Melfort House, the workmen uncovered superb examples of Bronze-Age Lorn in the shape of two beautifully worked metal armlets together with a magnificent crescent-shaped necklace of jet beads. These can now be found in the National Museum of Antiquities and the British Museum.

Just east of Melfort village along the west side of Loch A'Phearsain (The Parson's Loch) are the remains of an ancient dune and on the tiny island in the loch itself there are traces of a fortified dwelling or crannog thought to be of late Medieval origin. This type of fortification is quite common in the area where the local people used to stockade their animals on the
shores of the loch and retreat to the fortification on the island for protection.

The hill above the village of Melfort known as An Sithean (Hill of the Fairies) holds a cave of archaeological interest. The blasting operations of the Hydro Board in 1956 exposed a cave halfway up the hill which was subsequently excavated by the University of E d i n b u r g h' s Department of Archaeology. Several hundred -flint and quartz artifacts were recovered as well as a few scraps of teeth and charcoal fragments which date back to the period approximately 5000 BC and represent the debris of a temporary seasonal occupation by a hunting or a gathering group. Unfortunately the blasting has covered the occupation debris largely at the cave entrance immediately outside it where most of the activities would have taken place,
i.e. butchering, cooking and eating, working of tools and equipment,and probably sleeping.

There are not many cave sites in Scotland where sealed Mesolithic occupation deposits occur and the Melfort cave would have been unusual, if not unique, had it not been largely disturbed by the blasting operations of 1956. The lands of Melfort, at one time in the hands of the McDougalls, Lords of Lorne, were granted about 1343 by King David to Gilleasbuig Mor (Great Archibald) Campbell, Knight of Lochow who conferred them upon a half-brother Neil from whom were descended the MacNeill Campbells of Melfort. Son succeeded father in unbroken succession until 1838 when the property was sold by Colonel John Campbell to an English gunpowder company, the only portions of the land retained being the Family burial ground.

The Melfort Campbells

The Melfort Campbells during their last 130 years had a most distinguished record in the civil and military services. During that period the descendants of Captain Archibald Campbell of Melfort who died in 1773 and his wife Annabel, daughter of Campbell of Barcaldine, gave for the service of their country two admirals, one captain RN, one commander RN, four generals,
four colonels, two majors, six captains, and six lieutenants. Harrison Ainsley and Co. purchased the estate in 1838 as an ideal location for the manufacture of gunpowder. Not only is it secluded, but it has a deep water pier and plentiful supplies of scrub oak.

Gunpowder at Melfort

To understand the advantage of these features, one needs to have a quick look at the actual manufacture of black powder as it was practised at Melfort. The first stage was preparing the raw materials by refining the salt-petre and sulphur, manufacturing the charcoal from the oak scrub, pulverising the ingredients separately and mixing them in required proportions. The gunpowder was then incorporated by mechanically grinding and crushing the ingredients into an intimate mixture. At this stage the gunpowder was in the form of a damp paste known as millcake. This was pressed in hard slate-like sheets of press cake corned or formed into grains of various sizes, dusted, glazed and finally dried. Charcoal was the variable factor in the composition and its preparation involved selection of the wood to be used and control of the burning process. The traditional method of charring wood in stacks made excellent charcoal for the fuel but the product was too impure and uneven as an ingredient of gunpowder.

A new method of distilling wood in sealed retorts was therefore developed in the late 18th century. Coppices were planted around powder mills to supply the necessary wood. Salt-petre in the form of fine crystals could be used straight from the refinery but the charcoal and sulphur had to be pulverised. This was done traditionally in crushing mills with stone-edged runners rolling upon a circular bedstone and in the 19th century machines similar to giant coffee grinders were introduced for pulverising charcoal. The powdered ingredients were each sieved to ensure uniformity to remove any gritty particles which might cause an explosion during manufacture. The saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur were then weighed out normally in the proportions of 75/15/10 and mixed in a revolving drum to produce the green charge for the incorporating mills.

Incorporating mills with stone-edged runners were introduced in Britain in the early 18th century. The charge was moistened  and kept damp throughout theincorporating process which lasted for about 2 hours for common blasting powder, and 8 hours or more for the finest sporting grades. Production was continuous with the workforce operating a shift system.

In the 19th century steam engines and later water turbines were introduced to drive incorporating mills and other equipment, the remnants of which are still evident at Melfort. Improvements were made in the design and this enabled a larger charge to be processed. Pressing the millcake to increase its specific gravity was introduced in the 18th century. Granulating machines
with toothed rollers cut the press cake into pieces. After it was corned, the remaining dust was removed by tumbling the powder in gauze-covered revolving cylinders. The powder was dried normally by heating of steam pipes and traditionally packed in oak barrels and kegs of various sizes. Most powder mills had their own cooperage and this employed a large proportion of the workforce.

For transport within factories, punts were used on mill streams wherever possible and tramways were laid to connect the different buildings, with the trams pulled by horses or pushed by workmen. Gunpowder was stored in factory magazines while awaiting despatch. There was a considerable coastal traffic in gunpowder for which the Government and several private firms like Harrison and Ainsley maintained their own fleets of sailing barges.

Minor accidents were commonplace and most mills would experience a fatal explosion occasionally. Fortunately, the number of casualties was no; usually large in comparison, for example, with mining disasters, but details are invariably gruesome. At Melfort in 1867 for example, an explosion took place resulting in the total destruction of the powder works as recorded in the"Oban Times" of 9 March. This article tells of a bale of cloth being thrown from the last building to a distance of about a mile. Many of the windows in the houses were smashed by the concussion of air.

Melfort and the Present

Inevitably automation and the development of dynamite brought about the decline of the works. Now some 120 years later and housed in the old buildings the Melfort Club flourishes. The names of the cottages reflect their function within the framework of the old gunpowder village. The ruins and the lade along the banks of the River Oude along with certain remnants of the tramway which ran from the village to the pier at Fearnach Bay complete the picture. The very existence of the Melfort Club in
its present form ensures that the illustrious history and the uniqueness of the Melfort village will be preserved for many generations to come.

Sources

1. Gillies - Nether Lorn 1909

2. Islands of Nether Lorn - West Highland Series No 3

3. Glenys Crocker - The Gunpowder Industry