Stornoway_from_Cuddy_Point (1)

November 26, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum

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Scotlands Citys & Towns Stornoway (/ˈstɔːrnəweɪ/ (About this soundlisten); Scottish Gaelic: Steòrnabhagh) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 8,000, making it by far the largest town in the Hebrides, as well as the second largest island town in Scotland after Kirkwall in the Orkney. The traditional civil parish of Stornoway, which includes various nearby villages, has a combined population of just over 10,000. Stornoway is an important port and the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides. It is home to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (the Western Isles Council) and a variety of educational, sporting and media establishments. Observance of the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) has long been an aspect of the island's culture. Recent changes mean that Sunday on Lewis now more closely resembles Sunday on the other Western Isles or the mainland of Scotland. History The town was founded by Vikings in the early 9th century, with the Old Norse name Stjórnavágr. The settlement grew up around a sheltered natural harbour near the centre of the island; people travelled to Stornoway from all over the island, either by family boat or by horse-drawn coach. For onward travel to and trade with the rest of Scotland and further afield. At some point in the mid 1500s, the already ancient MacLeod castle in Stornoway 'fell victim to the cannons of the Duke of Argyle'. By the early 1600s rumbling trade wars came to a head, and all further government attempts to curtail traditional shipping rights were firmly resisted by the islanders. As was an attempt by James VI, King of Scotland, to establish on the island the Scottish trading company known as the Fife Adventurers around 1598.; as a result, in 1610, James VI transferred Lewis to the MacKenzies of Seaforth. In 1844, the MacKenzies sold Stornoway, and the Isle of Lewis as a whole, to Sir James Matheson (and his descendants) who built the present Lews Castle on a hill overlooking the bay of Stornoway. Fragmentary ruins of the old Stornoway Castle had survived in the bay until that time, and can even be seen in Victorian photographs , but Matheson destroyed them in 1882, in order to expand the harbour; a few remains of Stornoway Castle still remain, hidden beneath pier number 1, close to the shore, slightly west of centre. In 1918, Matheson sold the island to William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme. Lord Leverhulme held the island for a short time. His economic plans for the island (together with various business setbacks) overstretched his finances. Faced with failure in Lewis, he gave Stornoway parish to the people of the town. The Stornoway Trust was formed and continues to administer the parish for the people. Go to Wikipedia for full History

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