Stornoway Town Hall

Proposals for a town hall in Stornoway, to be funded by public subscription, were first considered by the town council in 1897. The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Major Duncan Matheson of Lews Castle in August 1903. It designed by John Robertson of Inverness in the Gothic Revival style and opened by the former Prime Minister, the Earl of Rosebery, on 7 September 1905. The clock was built by John Smith and Sons of Derby. The four faces of the clock were lit by gas and the hours were struck on a new bell. This was destroyed in a fire on 2 March 1918 when the clock tower collapsed. Following the fire, the town hall was rebuilt in the same style and re-opened by the President…