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Opium, Soap and Big Plans for Lewis. |
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The building of Lews Castle was his most grandiose scheme and cost £100,495 to build. The castle is built in a mock-Tudor style and was built on the same land as the Seaforth Lodge of the Mackenzies had formerly stood on. £60,000 was spent on the castle and the rest on the grounds. However, the expenditure on the redesign of the grounds exposes the negative side of Matheson's tenure, as it required the clearing of tenants from the land and the re-routing of local roads, shaping the island to his own wants rather than the islanders' needs.
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The tension over the ownership of the land increased throughout the later 19th Century as the Estate Factor and his "Rules and Regulations" became more and more draconian. Land cleared of crofters was either used for deer, or was given to mainland farmers in large farms, which did little to defuse the anger of the local crofters who were squeezed onto less and less viable land.
This agitation culminated in the events of 1887, when, in November, the tenants of Lady Matheson occupied the Park deer forest on Lewis in protest against land shortages, killing 200 deer and inviting journalists to the feast. This was the culmination of a period of discontent that saw disturbances throughout the island, and led to Royal Marines being stationed in Stornoway and the riot act being read at Aignish. However, the solution to the land issue suggested by the authorities through the Crofters Commission was to encourage further emigration from Lewis.
Despite all this, James Matheson is still generally viewed fairly positively on Lewis for the many improvements he brought to the island.
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