Issue 3
Your guide to Lews Castle
It is our pleasure, as guardians of this iconic building, to extend a warm welcome and wish you a truly memorable stay, as you discover the latest chapter in the Castle's rich history... Designed by Glasgow architect Charles Wilson in the Gothic Revival style, the Castle sits on the site of the Seaforth Lodge, the island home for the Earls of Seaforth from the late 1600’s. The harled wall within the glazed courtyard (Storehouse Café) is remnant of this earlier house. In 1918, the Isle of Lewis along with the Castle was bought by the soap industrialist and social reformer Lord Leverhulme. He had great plans for developing Stornoway and Lewis and spent millions on a variety of projects. He modernised the Castle
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internally and extended the ‘shore road’ out to the River Creed. When he finally gave up on his plans in 1923 and moved his operations to Harris, Lord Leverhulme gifted the Castle and the land of Stornoway Parish to the community, setting up the Stornoway Trust. He also specified that the Castle should be called ‘Lews Castle’. Having served as a naval hospital during WW2, the Castle was converted to a College in 1952 and it continued in school use until 1988. After almost 20 years of disuse, the multi-million pound restoration of the Castle started in 2012 and was completed in 2017, which you can see today!
LATITUDE 58.211509, LONGITUDE -6.394375 POSTAL ADDRESS: ISLE OF LEWIS HS2 0XP