Mealista

Human settlement in Scotland

Mealista

Location within the Outer Hebrides

LanguageScottish Gaelic
EnglishOS grid referenceNA991241Civil parish

Council area

Na h-Eileanan Siar

Lieutenancy area

Western Isles

CountryScotlandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townISLE OF LEWISPostcode districtHS2Dialling code01851PoliceScotlandFire Scottish Ambulance Scottish UK Parliament

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Scottish Parliament

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

List of places: UK; Scotland

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 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

^ ^a ^b "Mealista". Hebridean Connections. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "Isle of Lewis Visitor Guide - Accommodation, Things To Do & More". www.visitscotland.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
^ "Data structure report of small-scale sampling at Mealasta, Lewis, Western Isles of Scotland". Durham University. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "Mealista, Lewis | Hebridean Connections". www.hebrideanconnections.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
^ "Mealasta Beaches". Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "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.
^ Watson, Patrick (11 December 2007). Watson's Really Big WWII Almanac. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781469101903. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "Geraldine Mary". uboat.net. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^ "Mealista Beaches , Uig, Isle of Lewis - Outer Hebrides Photos".
^ 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.
^ "Lewis, Mealista | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2021.