Mealista

Mealista (Scottish Gaelic: Mealasta) was a township in the west of the Isle of Lewis. It is currently largely uninhabited due to the Highland Clearances, which occurred there in 1838.[1]

Mealista

Mealasta beach
Mealista
Location within the Outer Hebrides
LanguageScottish Gaelic
English
OS grid referenceNA991241
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townISLE OF LEWIS
Postcode districtHS2
Dialling code01851
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Mealista is a name of Norse origin, melr-stadhr, meaning 'lyme-grass steading'.[1] Mealasta lends its name to Eilean Mhealasta which is just to the southwest. The area of Mealasta is known to be the location of a medieval settlement, with a possible nunnery on the headland.[2]

During World War II, fourteen of the survivors of the merchant ship SS Geraldine Mary reached shore at Mealista in August 1940.[3] The ship had been torpedoed, off the coast of Ireland, by the German U-Boat U-52.[4][5][6]

References
  1. "Mealista". Hebridean Connections. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  2. "Data structure report of small-scale sampling at Mealasta, Lewis, Western Isles of Scotland". Durham University. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. "Mealasta Beaches". Welcome to Scotland. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. "Canadian & Newfoundland Merchantmen Lost Due to Enemy Actions in WWII". Battle of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  5. Watson, Patrick (11 December 2007). Watson's Really Big WWII Almanac. ISBN 9781469101903. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. "Geraldine Mary". uboat.net. Retrieved 21 December 2014.


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