Mealista

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Mealista
  • Scottish Gaelic: Mealasta
Mealasta beach (geograph 4018917).jpg
Mealasta beach
Mealista is located in Outer Hebrides
Mealista
Mealista
Location within the Outer Hebrides
LanguageScottish Gaelic
English
OS grid referenceNA991241
Civil parish
Council area
  • Na h-Eileanan Siar
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townISLE OF LEWIS
Postcode districtHS2
Dialling code01851
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
58°06′14″N 7°06′29″W / 58.104°N 7.108°W / 58.104; -7.108Coordinates: 58°06′14″N 7°06′29″W / 58.104°N 7.108°W / 58.104; -7.108

Mealista (Scottish Gaelic: Mealasta) was a township in the west of the Isle of Lewis. It is currently largely uninhabited due to the Highland Clearances, which occurred there in 1838.[1] The beach is a visitor attraction. [2]

History[]

Mealista is a name of Norse origin, melr-stadhr, meaning 'lyme-grass steading'.[1] Mealasta lends its name to Eilean Mhealasta which is just to the southwest. The area of Mealasta is known to be the location of a medieval settlement[3]

Tigh nan Cailleachan Dubha, the House of the Black Women, is one of the medieval ruins, which is purported to have been a nunnery, but that is doubted.[4]

During World War II, fourteen of the survivors of the merchant ship reached shore at Mealista in August 1940.[5] The ship had been torpedoed, off the coast of Ireland, by the German U-Boat U-52.[6][7][8]

During WWII several hundred people were stationed at Mealista and Brenais, to operate wireless and radar installations. There was a cinema, a bar, regular dances, but the area was again abandoned after the war.[9]

Teampall Mhealastadh[]

Outside of Mealista is Teampall Mhealastadh, the remains of small chapel and graveyard. Most of the tombstones are now buried.[10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Mealista". Hebridean Connections. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Isle of Lewis Visitor Guide - Accommodation, Things To Do & More". www.visitscotland.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Data structure report of small-scale sampling at Mealasta, Lewis, Western Isles of Scotland". Durham University. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Mealista, Lewis | Hebridean Connections". www.hebrideanconnections.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Mealasta Beaches". Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Canadian & Newfoundland Merchantmen Lost Due to Enemy Actions in WWII". Battle of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  7. ^ Watson, Patrick (11 December 2007). Watson's Really Big WWII Almanac. ISBN 9781469101903. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Geraldine Mary". uboat.net. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Mealista Beaches , Uig, Isle of Lewis - Outer Hebrides Photos".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Barrowman, Rachel C.; Francoz, Charlotte; Hooper, Janet; Rennie, Christine; Tompsett, Gary (17 February 2020). "Chapel-sites on the Isle of Lewis: Results of the Lewis Coastal Chapel-sites Survey". Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports. 88: 1–134. doi:10.9750/issn.2056-7421.2020.88. ISSN 2056-7421.
  11. ^ "Lewis, Mealista | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2021.

External links[]


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