Mealista

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]

Mealista
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
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townISLE OF LEWIS
Postcode districtHS2
Dialling code01851
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

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 SS Geraldine Mary 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. "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. Xlibris Corporation. 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".
  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 (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.
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