Cambridge Encyclopedia :: Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 72

Stornoway - About the Town, Stornoway in Popular Media, Stornoway's Sabbath

58°12N 6°23W, pop (2000e) 8490. Port capital of Western Isles, NW Scotland, UK, on E coast of Lewis; airfield; fishing, oil supply services, tweeds, knitwear, tourism; An Lanntair art gallery, Museum nan Eilean Steornabhagh.

Stornoway
Gaelic: Steòrnabhagh
Location
OS grid reference: NB426340
Statistics
Population: 5,602
Administration
Council area: Na h-Eileanan Siar
Constituent country: Scotland
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Police force: Northern Constabulary
Lieutenancy area: Western Isles
Former county: Ross-shire
Post office and telephone
Post town: STORNOWAY
Postal district: HS1
Dialling code: 01851
Politics
Scottish Parliament: Western Isles
UK Parliament: Na h-Eileanan an Iar
European Parliament: Scotland

About the Town

Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh in Scottish Gaelic) is a burgh on Lewis (Leòdhas), in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, with a population of approximately 5,600 people in the town itself, out of a total population of 26,370 for the whole of the Western Isles.

The town of Stornoway also has an airport (Stornoway Airport), 2 miles away from the town itself, and it is located next to the village of Melbost.

Notable buildings in Stornoway include Stornoway Town Hall and the neo-gothic Lews Castle.

The radio station, Isles FM, is based in Stornoway and broadcasts on 103FM, featuring a mixture of Gaelic and English programming.

Links to Stornoway

Angus MacAskill, the strongest man to have ever lived - born in Bernaray and brought up in Stornoway before emigrating to Canada John Wayne, film star (real name Marion Morrison) - father, Clyde Leonard Morrison, had ties with Stornoway Stuart Braithwaite, lead singer of Glasgow based band Mogwai - mother was born in Stornoway Donald Trump, American billionaire - mother came from Tong, a village four miles out of Stornoway Derick Thomson, Scottish Gaelic poet, born elsewhere in Lewis, but educated in Stornoway.

Stornoway in Popular Media

Stornoway became immortalised in the song ‘Lovely Stornoway’ by Calum Kennedy and Bob Halfin.

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.

Stornoway's Sabbath

Stornoway is known throughout Scotland for the relaxed Sabbath day.

There is only one filling station (Engebret's) which opens on a Sunday (along with Stornoway Airport).

A recent Poll by the Hebridean newspaper suggested that 89% of Stornoway residents would use facilities on a Sunday if they were available.

Recent Sunday ferry sailings from North Uist to Harris and the opening of Stornoway Airport on Sundays are a step towards a more cosmopolitan approach to living the Sabbath.

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