Lockout Poster
Glencoe Folk Museum

The workers of the Ballachulish Slate Quarry went on strike in July 1902, in what was known as a ‘lockout’. The lockout was planned to last for one year, but went on for eighteen months. 

The quarry workers objected to the dismissal of Dr Lachlan Grant from his role as Medical Officer which applied to the quarries and the Parish of Ballachulish. They were also striking against poor working conditions, low wages, and high charges for materials necessary to extract the slate, which workers had to purchase themselves.