Stornoway is a town on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The town's population is around 8,000, making it the ...
Stornoway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stornoway (
;
Scottish Gaelic:
Steòrnabhagh) is a
town on the
Isle of Lewis, in the
Outer Hebrides (also known as the Western Isles) of
Scotland.
The town's population is around 8,000, making it the largest town in
the Hebrides, with a third of the population of the civil parish of
Stornoway, which includes various nearby villages and has a population
of approximately 12,000.
[2] 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 is now less different from Sunday on
the other Western Isles or the mainland of Scotland.
Scottish Gaelic
According to the 2011 Census, there are 5,492 Scottish Gaelic speakers (43%) in the greater Stornoway area.
[3]
History
The town was founded by Vikings in the early 9th century, under the
Old Norse name
Stjórnavágr. This town, and what eventually became its present-day version, grew up around a sheltered
natural harbour
well placed at a central point on the island, for the convenience of
people from all over the island, to arrive at the port of Stornoway,
either by family boat or by horse-drawn coach for ongoing travel and
trade with the mainland of Scotland and to all points south.
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 the
King of Scotland James VI to place in the island the Scottish trading company known as the
Fife Adventurers around 1598.
[4]
In the mid 19th century, the ownership of Stornoway - and by extension the Isle of Lewis - passed from the
MacKenzies of Seaforth to
Sir James Matheson (and his descendants) who built the present
Stornoway castle on a hill overlooking the bay of Stornoway. Matheson sold the island to
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme.
[5][6]
Lord Leverhulme held the island for a short time. His economic plans
for the island (and with diverse business setbacks looming)
over-stretched his finances and 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.
[5][6]
Harbour and maritime industry
Panorama of Stornoway Harbour area from Arnish Point
Today the harbour hosts a fishing fleet (and associated shoreside
services) somewhat reduced from its heyday, a small marina and moorings
for pleasure craft, a small shipyard and slipway, three larger piers for
commercial traffic and Stornoway Lifeboat Station, run by the
RNLI and home to a
Severn-class lifeboat,
Tom Sanderson.
Her Majesty's Coastguard operates a Maritime Rescue Sub Centre from a building near the harbour.
[7][8][9]
A lighthouse, seaweed processing plant and a renewable energy
manufacturing yard are situated on Arnish Point at the mouth of the
harbour and visually dominate the approaches. Arnish Point is also
earmarked by
AMEC as the landfall for its proposed private sub-sea cable which would export the electricity generated from the Lewis Windpower
wind farm
with a planning application for 181 turbines submitted to the Scottish
Executive. In 2008 the Scottish Government rejected the plans - the
company responsible is currently planning their next move.
[citation needed]
The Arnish area was also surveyed by
SSE for a second
sub-sea cable but lost out in favour of
Gravir
to the south as the preferred site. SSE prefers Arnish Point as of
2016. The manufacturing yard was originally established in the 1970s as a
fabrication plant for the oil industry but suffered regular boom and
bust cycles. The downturn in business from the
North Sea oil
industry in recent years led to a move away from serving this market.
The yard is now earmarked as a key business in the development of the
whole Arnish Point industrial estate and has received large amounts of
funding in recent years.
[citation needed]
In 2007 the Arnish yard was taken over by its third tenant in as many
years. Cambrian Engineering fell into liquidation as did Aberdeen-owned
Camcal Ltd with relatively large-scale redundancies. Both firms were
affected by the absence of a regular stream of orders and left a chain
of large debts impacting upon local suppliers. Altissimo Ltd is a new
firm backed by a group of Swiss and Dutch investors, and has purchased
the Camcal name from the previous operator.
[10] In December 2007, the yard won a contract to construct 49 towers for
wind turbines in
Turkey. This will ensure employment for around 70 employees for over six months.
[11]
On 1 January 1919, the
Iolaire sank at the entrance of the harbour, one of the
worst maritime disasters in Scottish or
UK waters, with a death toll of 205 men,
[12] who were returning home from
World War I.
Climate
Stornoway, like much of the British Isles, has an
Oceanic climate, with relatively little variation of temperature and damp conditions throughout the year.
[citation needed]
| [hide]Climate data for Stornoway 15m asl, 1971–2000, extremes 1901– |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
14.4
(57.9) |
13.9
(57) |
17.2
(63) |
20.5
(68.9) |
23.9
(75) |
25.6
(78.1) |
26.2
(79.2) |
26.3
(79.3) |
25.0
(77) |
19.4
(66.9) |
16.3
(61.3) |
14.4
(57.9) |
26.3
(79.3) |
| Average high °C (°F) |
7.0
(44.6) |
7.0
(44.6) |
8.0
(46.4) |
9.5
(49.1) |
12.1
(53.8) |
13.9
(57) |
15.8
(60.4) |
15.9
(60.6) |
14.0
(57.2) |
11.7
(53.1) |
8.9
(48) |
7.6
(45.7) |
11.0
(51.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
2.0
(35.6) |
1.9
(35.4) |
2.6
(36.7) |
3.7
(38.7) |
6.0
(42.8) |
8.2
(46.8) |
10.3
(50.5) |
10.3
(50.5) |
8.6
(47.5) |
6.4
(43.5) |
3.7
(38.7) |
2.7
(36.9) |
5.6
(42.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
−12.2
(10) |
−10.6
(12.9) |
−9.4
(15.1) |
−8.9
(16) |
−4.4
(24.1) |
0.6
(33.1) |
2.5
(36.5) |
2.1
(35.8) |
−0.4
(31.3) |
−4.4
(24.1) |
−7.8
(18) |
−11.2
(11.8) |
−12.2
(10) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) |
141.1
(5.555) |
104.5
(4.114) |
112.7
(4.437) |
70.7
(2.783) |
57.3
(2.256) |
63.8
(2.512) |
72.5
(2.854) |
81.7
(3.217) |
113.4
(4.465) |
134.5
(5.295) |
143.8
(5.661) |
135.8
(5.346) |
1,231.7
(48.492) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours |
31.9 |
62.7 |
98.9 |
141.6 |
196.5 |
162.3 |
129.6 |
132.1 |
109.5 |
82.5 |
43.2 |
26.0 |
1,216.8 |
| Source #1: [13] |
| Source #2: [14] |
Transport
The
Caledonian MacBrayne-operated
ferry MV Loch Seaforth has been sailing since 2015 and sails from the harbour to
Ullapool
on the Scottish mainland, taking 2 hours 30 minutes. There are an
average of two return crossings a day, with an increase and reduction in
frequency in summer and winter months respectively. The former main
ship on the route,
MV Isle of Lewis (1995), provides a back-up to
Loch Seaforth when there is more traffic and when she is unable to sail.
[citation needed]
Suggestions for the possibility of an undersea tunnel linking Lewis
and Harris to the Scottish mainland were raised in early 2007. One of
the possible routes, between Stornoway and Ullapool, would be over 40
miles (60 km) long and hence become the longest road tunnel in the
world.
[15][16]
Stornoway is also the public transport hub of Lewis, and buses run to
Point, Ness, Back and Tolsta, Uig, the West Side, Lochs and
Tarbert, Harris. These buses are provided by the Comhairle and several private operators as well as some community-run organisations.
[citation needed]
Stornoway Airport is located next to the village of
Melbost, 2 miles (3 km) away from the town itself. From here services operate to
Aberdeen,
Benbecula,
Edinburgh,
Inverness and
Glasgow, with flights from
Flybe franchisee
Loganair &
Eastern Airways. The airport is also the base of an
HM Coastguard Search & Rescue
Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, and was previously home to
RAF Stornoway. In 1898, the
Hebridean Light Railway Company was proposed, with a terminus at Stornoway, but the line was never constructed.
[citation needed]
Education
Boats in Stornoway harbour
Stornoway is home to the
Nicolson Institute; founded in 1873, it is the largest school in the
Western Isles and the only
secondary school
in Lewis providing a six-year course. It has a roll of around 1,000
pupils. A two-year re-building project costing £29 million commenced in
2010, and the new school building formally opened in October 2012.
[17][18]
Primary education in Stornoway is in Stornoway Primary School which
opened in August 1969. The school is situated on Jamieson Drive with
around 400 pupils. The head teacher is Annette Murray.
[19][20]
There is a further education college,
Lews Castle College, which was founded in 1953 and is now part of the
University of the Highlands and Islands. It runs over 140 courses and has around 2700 students.
[21][22][23]
There is also a small campus of the
University of Stirling in Stornoway, teaching nursing, based in the
Western Isles Hospital.
It provides undergraduate degree programmes for adult nursing and
supports post graduate students who can choose from various higher level
courses.
[24]
Sport
Football
is the most popular amateur sport and Goathill Park in the town hosts
special matches involving select teams and visiting clubs and other
organisations. Two local teams currently participate in the
Lewis and Harris Football League, Stornoway Athletic (Aths) and Stornoway United.
Until the early 1990s there was also Stornoway Rovers.
Shinty is not as popular as in the rest of the West of Scotland, but the
Lewis Camanachd team is based around the town.
Rugby Union is also popular with Stornoway RFC competing regularly in national leagues and cups.
The town also has a very popular gymnastics group which competes
annually in sports festivals. The Lews Castle Grounds is the home of
Stornoway Golf Club (the only 18-hole golf course in the Outer
Hebrides).
Very near to the Nicolson Institute is the
Lewis Sports Centre (
Ionad Spors Leòdhas),
which has a Sports Hall, Fitness Suite, Climbing Wall, Swimming Pool
and various other facilities. It also boasts a running track and an
Astro Turf Football pitch. There is also the Stornoway Karate Club, a
member of the International Japan Karate Association. Other clubs
include: Stornoway United FC and Stornoway Athletic FC. There is also
other sports clubs. Stornoway United FC normally win the Manor Dairy
Football Competition.
Culture and media
The annual
Hebridean Celtic Festival is a 4-day community-led festival which attracts over 10,000 visitors during July of each year. The
Royal National Mòd has been held in Stornoway on a number of occasions, most recently in 2005, 2011 and 2016.
[25] Large influxes of visitors such as for these events can strain the town's accommodation capacity.
Stornoway is a sister town of
Pendleton, in
Anderson County,
South Carolina,
United States.
Broadcasting
The radio station
Isles FM is based in Stornoway and broadcasts on 103FM, featuring a mixture of
Gaelic and English programming. It is also home to a studio operated by
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. The Gaelic-language public service broadcaster
BBC Alba launched on 19 September 2008, is based in Stornoway.
Newspapers
The main local newspaper for the Western Isles is the
Stornoway Gazette.
Food and drink
Stornoway black pudding is a gourmet black pudding, and was granted
PGI status in 2013 by the
European Commission to prevent inferior puddings produced elsewhere being marketed as "Stornoway" or "Stornoway Style".
[26]
Stornoway kippers and
Stornoway smoked salmon
are produced in town. They have one of the last working brick kilns in
the UK, at the establishment of Stornoway Fish Smokers, Shell Street.
The
Hebridean Brewing Company produces
cask ale and
filtered beer in bottles.
[27]
Attractions
Notable buildings in Stornoway include:
Stornoway in popular media and culture
Stornoway became immortalised in the song "Lovely Stornoway" by
Calum Kennedy and Bob Halfin.
The
4AD Records folk-rock band
Stornoway
took their name from the town, after seeing it on the BBC weather
report. They signed their record deal outside the Woodlands Centre in
Lews Castle Grounds, Stornoway, after performing in the town for the
first time in April 2010. Their second concert there was as headliners
on the main stage of the Hebridean Celtic Festival on 13 July 2011.
[28]
"Stornoway" is the name of the
official residence of the
Leader of the Opposition in
Canada's
Parliament. It was given the name by its second occupants, the
Perley-Robertsons, after the ancestral home of the Perley family.
[citation needed]
The novel
The Stornoway Way by Lewisman
Kevin MacNeil is largely set in Stornoway.
[citation needed]
RAF Stornoway is featured in the
Tom Clancy novel
Red Storm Rising as a base for Allied air operations over the North Atlantic and against
Soviet-held
Iceland.
[citation needed]
Stornoway features heavily in the initial stages of the
X-Men comics
Dark Phoenix Saga due to its proximity to the fictional
Muir Island and
Proteus' attempts to find a new host body.
[citation needed]
In the motion picture
Latitude Zero by Toho Productions (1969), Stornoway Harbour is featured on a wall plaque as the construction site of the submarine "Alpha".
[citation needed]
In 2007 the British car manufacturer
Land Rover introduced
Stornoway Grey
as a colour choice for its vehicle line-up. In response, Stornoway's
councillor Angus Nicolson appealed to Land Rover to relabel the colour
as
Silvery Stornoway, fearing that the association of
grey with
dull and
boring
would hurt the image of the town with tourists; Mr Nicolson said: "This
is deeply insulting and is offensive, inaccurate and inherently
degrading. This will hit tourism as it subliminally implants adverse
connotations in the minds of those who have never experienced the
reality of these beautiful islands." Land Rover replied that the colour
in question is one of the most popular ones and the use of Stornoway in
its name will instead "keep it on the map".
[29][30]
In 2011 Scottish author
Peter May published
The Blackhouse, the first of The Lewis Trilogy of thrillers based on
Lewis, where the primary police murder investigation is based in Stornoway.
[citation needed]
Religion
Stornoway has several churches of various Christian denominations, and is a stronghold of the Free Church of Scotland. The
Sabbath is still widely observed in Stornoway; it is home to a number of members of the
Lord's Day Observance Society,
which lobbies for no work on the Christian Sabbath (Sundays), based on
its interpretation of the fourth (by the Hebrew reckoning) of the
Ten Commandments. Sunday newspapers are not available and almost all shops and local amenities are closed on Sundays.
Travel
Until July 2009, there were no Sunday ferry services to or from Stornoway. It was announced on 14 July 2009 that
Caledonian MacBrayne would begin to operate Sunday sailings from Sunday 19 July 2009.
[31]
Before this, they would operate additional sailings on Sundays if
several previous sailings have been cancelled, to allow the backlog of
traffic to clear. Caledonian MacBrayne have said that they took legal
advice that not implementing Sunday sailings would be against human
rights legislation.
[31]
There are Sunday flights leaving from Stornoway airport with two return flights to Inverness and one to Glasgow.
Notable people
Natives/locals
- Linda Norgrove, aid worker from the Western Isles
- Astrid (band), band from the Western Isles
- Kevin MacNeil, novelist, poet and playwright
- Sheilagh M. Kesting, first woman minister to be nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
- Cathy MacDonald, TV presenter
- Donny MacLeod (Donny B), former TV presenter on Pebble Mill
- Calum Kennedy, singer and entertainer
- Calum MacDonald, politician
- Aeneas MacKenzie, screenwriter
- Alexander MacKenzie, explorer, after whom the Mackenzie River in Canada is named
- Colin Mackenzie, 1st Surveyor-General of India
- Anne MacKenzie, BBC current affairs presenter and radio presenter
- Ken MacLeod, science fiction writer
- Hans Matheson, actor, plays the title role in Granada's £8.5m serialisation of Boris Pasternak's novel, Doctor Zhivago
- Alexander Munro, Olympic tug-of-war medalist and wrestler
- Donald Stewart, politician
- Alasdair Smith, Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex
Links to Stornoway
- Iain Crichton Smith, writer, educated at the Nicolson Institute.
- The 4AD Records folk-rock band Stornoway – took their name from the town after seeing it on the BBC weather report.[citation needed]
- Stuart Braithwaite, guitarist of Glasgow-based band Mogwai – mother was born in Stornoway.
- Angus MacAskill, the strongest man to have ever lived – born in Berneray and briefly lived in Stornoway before emigrating to Canada.
- Arthur Pink, Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar.
- Misbah Rana, also known as Molly Campbell, schoolgirl who recently was the focus of an international custody dispute between Scotland and Pakistan.
- Donald Trump, American billionaire and 45th President of the United States – mother (born Mary Anne MacLeod), came from Tong, a village 4 miles (6 km) from Stornoway; she emigrated to the United States at age 17 from Glasgow.
- Derick Thomson, Scottish Gaelic poet, educated in Stornoway.
- Alistair Darling, former Chancellor of the Exchequer – Mother was born and brought up in Stornoway; he is a former pupil of the Nicolson Institute.
Areas of the town
Gallery
References
Stornoway
Today the harbour hosts a fishing fleet (and associated shoreside services) somewhat reduced from its heyday, a small marina and moorings for pleasure craft, a small shipyard and slipway, three larger piers for commercial traffic and Stornoway Lifeboat Station, run by the RNLI and home to a Severn-class lifeboat, Tom Sanderson. Her Majesty's Coastguard operates a Maritime Rescue Sub Centre from a building near the harbour.[7][8][9]Panorama of Stornoway Harbour area from Arnish Point
MV Isle of Lewis
Stornoway is home to the Nicolson Institute; founded in 1873, it is the largest school in the Western Isles and the only secondary school in Lewis providing a six-year course. It has a roll of around 1,000 pupils. A two-year re-building project costing £29 million commenced in 2010, and the new school building formally opened in October 2012.[17][18]Boats in Stornoway harbour
Notable buildings in Stornoway include:Lews Castle in Stornoway
Boats in Stornoway
Stornoway from the ferry
Bayhead, Stornoway
Stornoway travel guide from Wikivoyage
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stornoway". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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