Eilean Mhealasta
Encyclopedia
Eilean Mhealasta is an uninhabited island off the west coast of Lewis
in the Outer Hebrides
of Scotland
. It takes its name from Mealista
, a nearby township on Lewis
.
had a shrine to St Catan, but it is not known if the island itself had a Culdee
settlement.
The ruins of old buildings of a previous community can still be seen. In 1823 the island was incorporated into a sheep farm. Thereafter no permanent inhabitants were recorded. A folk myth says that anyone born on Eilean Mhealasta will grow up to be an idiot. Haswell-Smith suggests that the landlords started this rumour to encourage residents to leave. In the 1861 census, it was recorded that some sailors from Rosehearty
were camping there.
In about 1785 a boat from Mealista carrying a cargo of timber took shelter from a gale at the southernmost point of the Pairc. Nothing more was heard of the crew and on Mealista they were given up as lost at sea. During the following summer, blankets were offered for sale at the annual market day at Stornoway
. The blankets were recognised by an unusual identification mark and a confession of murder for the cargo of timber followed.
The island is still used as sheep grazing.
, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Brenish (Breanais) and several miles north of Scarp
. It is just over a kilometre long, and indented with a bay, Camas Leirageo in the west, which contains, Sgeir na Geòdha Ruaidh. The east coast has a clean sandy beach, while the west coast is rocky.
The island is a bedrock of gneiss
, some of which contains a reddish quartz
. There are natural arches on the east coast.
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It takes its name from Mealista
Mealista
Mealista or Mealasta is 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....
, a nearby township on Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
.
History
Nearby MealistaMealista
Mealista or Mealasta is 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....
had a shrine to St Catan, but it is not known if the island itself had a Culdee
Culdee
Céli Dé or Culdees were originally members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland and England in the Middle Ages. The term is used of St. John the Apostle, of a missioner from abroad recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 806, and of Óengus...
settlement.
The ruins of old buildings of a previous community can still be seen. In 1823 the island was incorporated into a sheep farm. Thereafter no permanent inhabitants were recorded. A folk myth says that anyone born on Eilean Mhealasta will grow up to be an idiot. Haswell-Smith suggests that the landlords started this rumour to encourage residents to leave. In the 1861 census, it was recorded that some sailors from Rosehearty
Rosehearty
Rosehearty , Rizarty in the local dialect, is located on the Moray Firth coast, four miles west of the town Fraserburgh, in the historical county of Aberdeenshire in Scotland....
were camping there.
In about 1785 a boat from Mealista carrying a cargo of timber took shelter from a gale at the southernmost point of the Pairc. Nothing more was heard of the crew and on Mealista they were given up as lost at sea. During the following summer, blankets were offered for sale at the annual market day at Stornoway
Stornoway
Stornoway is a burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands after Inverness and Fort William...
. The blankets were recognised by an unusual identification mark and a confession of murder for the cargo of timber followed.
The island is still used as sheep grazing.
Geography and geology
Eilean Mhealasta lies ½ mile from the west coast of LewisLewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Brenish (Breanais) and several miles north of Scarp
Scarp, Scotland
Scarp is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, west of Hushinish on Harris. Once inhabited, the island was the scene of unsuccessful experiments with rocket mail, since commemorated in two films.-Geography:...
. It is just over a kilometre long, and indented with a bay, Camas Leirageo in the west, which contains, Sgeir na Geòdha Ruaidh. The east coast has a clean sandy beach, while the west coast is rocky.
The island is a bedrock of gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, some of which contains a reddish quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
. There are natural arches on the east coast.