The refurbishment project includes the construction of a new museum and archive extension, said to be the Islands’ first ever civic archive facility, on the site of the former glasshouses. Apart from that the project also includes extensive works to repair and restore the historic interior of the Castle.
There will be new learning and community facilities which will open up exciting opportunities for schools and community groups. The refurbishment work also includes a hotel accommodation for tourists to the islands.
Located west of the town of Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, the Lews Castle will create an archive for the Outer Hebrides. The museum, which is said to become the first in the UK to use Gaelic as its first language, will form a key visitor destination and gateway to a unique heritage network across the 15 inhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides.
It will display the collections of Museum nan Eilean (MnE) while enhancing the work of over 20 community heritage organisations which have been actively preserving and promoting the language and local culture of their Gaelic communities for the last 30 years and have collected photographs, documents and memorabilia on a scale unparalleled elsewhere in the UK.
