Worker's House & Bakery, Shore House, Bonawe Furnace

Two storey former workers dwellings and bakery (to rear). Rubble, part harled, slate roof. Entrance stairs to rear (now lost).

In 1752-3 Richard Ford & Company of Cumbria, later known as the Newland Company, established Bonawe Ironworks, negociating with local landowners for a supply of wood to provide charcoal for smelting. A kilometre long lade was cut from the River Awe to provide water power and a jetty built on the loch to receive iron ore, imported by sea from Furness in Lancashire and Central Scotland. The industry prospered and a community of local labour and English immigrants developed with workers housing and allotments built with grazing rights also allocated. Oak bark, a by-product of charcoal production, was exported, as for a time spun into a yarn by the workers' wives. By 1876 production at Lorn Furnace had ceased. (FA Walker)

September 2008: External inspection finds the building in poor condition. There is evidence of a partial collapse of the roof at the south end, two sets of stairs have been lost to the rear elevation, and the former bake-house section is very overgrown. Minor repairs to the roof and rainwater goods have been carried out to keep the building wind and watertight. Some of the windows have been replaced, others boarded. Some 4-pane sash and case windows remain but are in need of maintenance. The owner reports that a feasibility study has been carried out recently which concluded that the building is restorable.

September 2009: External inspection finds the block is wind and watertight but in need of a comprehensive scheme of repairs.

20 September 2012: External inspection finds no significant change from the previous site visit.