Lews Castle Gathering
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
LEWS CASTLE GATHERING (R8x40) 3C (4c set) Alison Austin A Dunfermline Collection1- 8 1s+2s DoSiDo; 1s+2s set and dance ½ RH across. (2)(1)3
9-16 1s+3s DoSiDo; 1s+3s set and dance ½ RH across. (2)(3)1
17-20 1s cross RH, cast up 1 place (3s step down). (2)(1)(3)
21-24 1L+2s and 1M+3s dance ½ RSh reel of 3 across. 213
25-32 2s+1s+3s dance Slip Knot (as for 3 couple knot but on last 2 bars 1s+2s dance ½ LH across while 3s ½ turn LH). 321
33-36 3s+2s+1s chase anticlockwise ½ round. (1)(2)(3)
37-38 1s+3s cross LH while 2s ½ turn LH and face up (retain LH)
39-40 1s cast down 1 place while 2s lead up 1 place. 213
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
Lews Castle, known in Scottish Gaelic as Caisteal Leòdhais, is a Victorian-era castle situated west of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.It was constructed between 1844 and 1851 as a country house for Sir James Matheson, who had purchased the entire island a few years earlier using wealth acquired from the Chinese opium trade. The castle was designed by Glasgow architect Charles Wilson.
In 1918, the Matheson family sold the Lews Estate, including the castle, to industrialist Lord Leverhulme. In 1923, he gifted the castle to the people of Stornoway parish.
During the Second World War, the castle was repurposed as accommodation for air and ground crew of 700 Naval Air Squadron. This squadron operated six Supermarine Walrus aircraft from a slipway at Cuddy Point within the castle grounds. The base was known as HMS Mentor.
In the 1950s, the castle provided student accommodation for Lews Castle College. When this use ended, the building remained unoccupied for several decades.
Now protected as a category A listed building, Lews Castle is owned by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the local council. On 22 November 2011, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded £4.6 million to support its conversion into a bilingual museum and cultural centre. In 2016, the ground floor, including a restored ballroom and a café, was reopened to the public. A year later, the luxury holiday company Natural Retreats launched apartments within the castle.
Lews Castle, Lewis, Stornoway, Outer Hebrides
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