Lews Castle (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: ''Caisteal Leòdhais'') is a

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

castle located west of the town of

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

, Scotland. It was built in the years 1844–51 as a country house for Sir James Matheson who had bought the whole island a few years previously with his fortune from the Chinese opium trade. It was designed by the Glasgow architect Charles Wilson. In 1918, the Lews Estate, including the castle, was bought by industrialist Lord Leverhulme from the Matheson family. He gave the castle to the people of Stornoway parish in 1923. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Castle was taken over as accommodation for air and ground crew of 700 Naval Air Squadron, which operated a detachment of six

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus is a British single-engine Amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane designed by Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell. Primarily used as a maritime patrol aircraft, it was the first British Squadron (aviation), squadron-service ai ...

aircraft from a slipway at Cuddy Point in the Grounds. The base was referred to as HMS ''Mentor''. After the war, the Castle was used for accommodation for students of Lews Castle College in the 1950s. After the accommodation closed, the building was left disused for several decades. The building, which is protected as a

category A listed building Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) *Category (V ...

, is now owned by the local council, ''

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar for, gd, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, italic=no, Council of the Western Isles, paren=left; ) is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for ''Na h-Eileanan an Iar'' (the Western Isles, also known as the Outer Hebrides), one of the 32 co ...

''. On 22 November 2011 Lews Castle was awarded £4.6 million by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to enable it to be converted into a bilingual museum and cultural centre. In 2016, the ground floor of the castle, including a restored ballroom and a cafe, reopened to the public. In 2017, Natural Retreats, a luxury holiday property company, opened apartments in the castle.

References

External links

Lews Castle's official website

from The Gazetteer for Scotland

from Stornoway Historical Society {{Lewis and Harris Buildings and structures in the Isle of Lewis Castles in the Outer Hebrides Houses completed in 1857 Category A listed buildings in the Outer Hebrides Listed houses in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Country houses in the Outer Hebrides Stornoway 1857 establishments in Scotland Museums established in 2016