Monument record 7521 - Seaforth Lodge, Stornoway, Lewis

'This was the family residence, built in the late seventeenth century across the bay from Stornoway Town, on the site of the present Lewis Castle figure 1. From here the abortive 1719 Glenshiel rising was planned. A coin hoard, consisting of 120 coins, has been found c 90m from the site of Seaforth Lodge (NB 421 332); the coins ranged in a date from Elizabeth the first of England to Charles the second, with the four latest dating to 1669, but a later date of deposition is probable.'(E.Dennison and R.Coleman,1997,27)

'Seaforth Lodge was demolished and the tenants cleared from the grounds. Evidence of this little known settlement, and indeed Seaforth Lodge itself, may survive here below ground or, in the case of the lodge, possibly incorporated into the fabric of the castle. Any building works within the castle may reveal traces of the earlier lodge, and landscaping and the insertion of new services may uncover remains of the former settlement in the grounds.'(E.Dennison and R.Coleman,1997,63)

NMRS REFERENCE:

NB 4200 3315 During recent conservation works on Sir James Matheson's mid-19th-century Lews Castle (NB 43 SW 49), the fabric of the building was examined. The possibility was considered of the former Seaforth Lodge of the MacKenzie's of Lewis being incorporated into the later 1850s building. Plans exist showing the layout in 1820 and 1785. Illustrations of the Lodge include an oil painting dated 1790, an etching dated 1789, and a print dated 1819 by Daniels. On all of these, a basic layout is shown of a main block flanked to the SE by two further blocks. The 1789 illustration shows a monopitched structure in the re-entrant angle between two blocks. Though the central block is shown as a possible two-storey structure both on the 1789 etching and the Daniels print, it is shown as a single-storey structure in the 1790 painting which also illustrates the possibility of an extension to this block under construction as it shows a roofless structure extending out to the SW. The Daniels print confirms this arrangement though with some artistic licence.
It has always been generally accepted that Seaforth Lodge was a 17th-century building, but both the illustration and the plans would suggest that the central block could represent a fortified tower block. Both the 1789 and the Daniels images show this block devoid of ground-floor windows, and the Daniels print suggests a possible balustrade top to the walls with a hipped roof.
On external examination of the present building, there exists at the bell tower two reworked corbel pieces that clearly do not belong to the Matheson building. The left hand example has a waterspout feature and a possible stringcourse carving to its extreme left (difficult to ascertain due to the dormer window being built directly abutting it). This detail could well be conversant with a tower balustrade configuration.
The rapidly deteriorating fabric of the building has led to internal remedial works, which has led to several areas being exposed - notably in the kitchen area and hallway where a lime-harled wall has been revealed. The hallway has two doors, one built up at the Matheson period and the other still functioning as a doorway. These have featureless plain harled door jambs though the lintels are in freestone and harled. The gable, which is orientated NNE-SSW, is clearly lime-harled down to a first-floor level on the N aspect, thus confirming that that section was only single storey and has signs of an abutting section of a building on the NNE area where, in all likelihood, the main block originally stood. The gable rises to form a stack, rising to where it exits to form a part of the present building structure. The stack, which has been extended on the NNE, is in an unstable condition on the exterior due, in all probability, to undesirable construction methods. On the internal side of the gable, there is the outline of an extensive fireplace at ground level and the remains of a freestone fireplace jamb at first-floor level. All these wall surfaces have had interference on a substantial scale, which is the probable cause of settlement at chimney head level.
It is of interest that all the Matheson earlier building works have structural and ashlar faults. Sir James Matheson's chamberlain, John Munro MacKenzie, a qualified civil engineer, was appointed shortly after the building works commenced and recognised the deficiencies in the execution of the works, ultimately leading to a legal dispute with the builder.
J Crawford 2002, 123
REPORT DATE: 09/02/2005

Large elements of Seaforth Lodge ( including roof timbers) were identified in the renovation works carried out on Lews Castle and were record by Addyman Archaeology.
K.Murphy (CnES Archaeologist) 2019

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

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2002, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41091.

2016, Lews Castle Historic Building Recording & Analytical Assessment Vol I & II (Unpublished document). SWE41225.

Addyman Archaeology, 2019, Lews Castle, Stornoway. Isle of Lewis (Unpublished document). SWE41233.