A 19th century Scottish castle has been brought back to life having been closed for 25 years.
Lews Castle in Stornoway, which was built in 1847, has been reopened today following extensive refurbishment by contractor Graham Construction, overseen by WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff.
The £19.5m restoration included building a new museum and archive extension on the site of the former glasshouses as well as extensive works to repair and restore the historic interior of the castle located west of the town of Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, reopened the castle in a special ceremony unveiling a plaque to mark the official opening.
As well as devising the project programme, WSP managed the procurement of designers and contractors, coordinated the work of the design team and devised a communication and governance structure for the project.
Brenda Jones, director at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, said: “The project has rescued a Category A listed building and given it a sustainable future as a museum, archive and hospitality venue which the public will have full access to for the first time in its 170-year history, which is a very exciting prospect.
“We feel our project management expertise really helped to minimise risk issues on such a complex project and we made sure that all project team members knew their responsibilities and deadlines in order to achieve the amazing vision the council had for the castle.”
The new museum has the distinction of being the first in the UK to use Gaelic as its first language and will form a key visitor destination and gateway to a unique heritage network across the 15 inhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides.
The project received funding from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, the Scottish Government, the European Regional Development Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Gaelic language organisation Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
