21671: Destruction of a Shooting Lodge by fire
Eishken Lodge destroyed by fire
A special messenger arrived in Stornoway on Saturday afternoon bringing information of the total destruction by fire of Eishken Lodge in the Parish of Lochs.
Eishken Lodge is a building of considerable size, situated at the head of Loch Shell, about 25 miles from Stornoway by public road and 15 miles by sea route. The residents in the vicinity of the lodge are few owing to the shootings being unlet for the past season, only the head keeper and his household being permanently stationed at the lodge. About five on Saturday morning, the servant girl employed in the keeper’s house which is situated some 30 or 40 yards from the lodge, having occasion to go out of doors, discovered the building in flames. The occupants of the house hastened to the scene to find that the flames had obtained a complete mastery over the building. The roof shortly afterwards fell in and nothing could be done to save the main erection, but the communications connecting it with the servants dwellings and offices were with some difficulty severed and these places were saved.
The origin of the fire is a mystery. Fires were occasionally kept in the lodge for the purpose of airing it and protecting the furniture from damp but it is stated that no fires were lighted since the 3rd curt. About 1130pm on the previous night, the keeper, accompanied by the ground officer for the Stornoway district, who was residing in the keeper’s house, were out of doors for a short time but they observed nothing unusual, all being quiet and no signs of fire. The house, which was generally kept locked up when the domestics were not engaged in it, was last visited on thursday 11th curt.
The lodge was a two storey stone and lime erection, having a number of bedrooms and conveniences for accommodating quite a large party. It was well and comfortably furnished, the furniture being of considerable value. The loss is estimated at from 2000 to 3000 and is only partly covered by insurance.
Extract from the Northern Chronicle, 17 June 1885
Details
- Record Type:
- Story, Report or Tradition
- Date:
- 1885
- Type Of Story Report Tradition:
- Newspaper Article
- Record Maintained by:
- CECL
Related Media
Margaret Macdonald, 36 Balallan at Eishken Lodge