On Sunday, I went into Lews Castle again. Whenever I happen by, I take the opportunity to pop in and have a look. The Castle is actually nothing more than a mansion, built in the middle of the 19th century. The funding was generated through the opium trade in China, with Sir James Matheson, baronet, at the heart of it. He even got to the British government to foment a war with China over the stuff. Opium is the base material from which all opioids, including morphine and codeine are extracted. Heroin is a synthetic form of morphine, with two acetyl groups hitched onto the molecule.
The Castle was last owned privately by Lord Leverhulme, who died in 1925. He left it to the community, which eventually turned it into a college. After it fell into disrepair in the 1970s and 80s, the college moved to a new building next door, and the Castle slowly mouldered away. If it had not been for the refurbishment of 2015, it would have collapsed. As it was, Lews Castle was lovingly restored and the results never cease to amaze me.
When one of my friends attended its reopening, on 16 July 2016, she burst into tears upon seeing the ornate entrance hall, the magnificent ballroom and the finery of the other staterooms. For all the riches and opulence displayed there, Sir James Matheson was laird over a population of desperately poor tenantry. In 1851, he organised for those that had fallen behind with their rent passage to Canada. They were appointed volunteers, if you catch my drift. Rather than help them with more land, Matheson bumped them off.
By all means, visit Lews Castle. Have a cuppa in the Stonehouse Cafe. But spare a thought for the poor people that were subjected to its 19th century owner's whims.
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