Monument record 7318 - Amity House, Stornoway, Lewis

'Amity House,formerly the Customs House (now on the east side Quay Street),is now the offices of the Pier and Harbour Commission and stands slightly isolated,set back from the waterfront.'. (Dennison and Coleman 1997, 46).

'A two storeyed,three bayed building,it was probably built as a Customs House sometime between 1820 and 1840.On its western elevation, its first floor windows are substantially higher that those on the ground floor,which may suggest that,from the outset,this section of the building was intended for office use.The exterior retains many original features,such as the entrance door entrance porch and the decoration around the first- floor windows,which may also noted on Cromwells Building.The interior cornice plasterwork is also a fine example of quality workmanship'.(Dennison & Coleman 1997, 62)

'Quay Street runs across the western tip of the natural promontory on which Stornoway stands.Its name reflects its position,with North Beach Quay to north and South Street Quay to the south.This is still the administrative centre of the fishing industry,with Amity House,the former harbour offices'.(Dennison and Coleman, 1997, 71)

NMRS:
NB43SW 43 42127 32753

(Location cited as NB 422 328). Custom House, built c. 1830. A neat two-storey and attic harled building, with 3 light windows and a Doric porch surmounted by a cast-iron balcony. Now offices.
J R Hume 1977.

REPORT DATE: 27/04/2004

NMRS:
EXTERNAL REFERENCE:

Scottish Record Office.
House built on Stornoway Quay. Advertisement and letter concerning its sale.
1821 GD 46/17/58
REPORT DATE: 11/01/2005

NB: Amity House has two NMRS records, NB43SW43 & NB43SW202. Both have been combined in this SMR record.
MML 12.10.05

E. Patricia Dennison & Russel Coleman, 1997, Historic Stornoway: the archaeological implications of development (Bibliographic reference). SWE41004.