curling stones come from granite quarry in wales in scotland.
curling stones come from granite quarry in wales in scotland.
where do curling stones come from in scotland?
granite quarry in wales
kays of scotland has been making curling stones in mauchline, ayrshire, since 1851 and has the exclusive rights to the ailsa craig granite, granted by the marquess of ailsa, whose family has owned the island since 1560. according to the 1881 census, andrew kay employed 30 people in his curling stone factory in mauchline. the last harvest of ailsa craig granite by kays took place in 2013, after a hiatus of 11 years; 2,000 tons were harvested, sufficient to fill anticipated orders through at least 2020. kays have been involved in providing curling stones for the winter olympics since chamonix in 1924 and has been the exclusive manufacturer of curling stones for the olympics since the 2006 winter olympics.
curling
on 4 september 1939, curling stone manufacturer andrew kay & co. sent a cablegram to its sales representative in toronto stating, "we now learn that the athenia was this morning sunk off the coast of scotland, and we regret that the finest consignment of curling stones that have ever yet left our factory has gone with it." according to james wyllie, secretary and director of kays of scotland (as the company is now known) in 2018, three bills of lading for this shipment included 48 pairs of blue hone ailsa curling stones for the london ontario curling club, 41 pairs of blue hone ailsa curling stones for the toronto high park curling club, and 50 pairs of red hone ailsa curling stones for the lindsay curling club. this is a total of 278 andrew kay & co. excelsior ailsa curling stones with handles and cases weighing nearly six tons with a 1939 value of (equivalent to £ in ).
ss athenia (1922)