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Port Ellen (Scottish Gaelic: Port Ìlein) is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland. The town is named after the wife of its founder, Walter Frederick Campbell.[2] Its previous name, Leòdamas, is derived from Old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour".

Port Ellen is built around Leodamais Bay, Islay's main deep water harbour. It is the largest town on Islay, only slightly larger than Bowmore and provides the main ferry connection between Islay and the mainland, at Kennacraig. The Port Ellen Distillery was first established in the 1820s and ceased production of Scotch whisky in 1983. The large malting continues to produce for the majority of the distilleries on Islay.[3][4]

History

The area around Port Ellen has a variety of archaeological sites covering the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age periods. There are standing stones at Kilbride, a fort at Borraichill Mor, several chambered cairns, and a chapel at Cill Tobar Lasrach.[3] Nearby lie the ruined remains of the 14th-century Dunyvaig Castle, once a fortress of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles.[5]

The current town was planned by Walter Frederick Campbell and founded in 1821 originally intended to support the herring industry.[6] It was originally called Port Ellinor in honour of his wife, Lady Eleanor Charteris (d. 1832), daughter of Francis Douglas, 8th Earl of Wemyss.

Ferry Service

Preceding station   Ferry   Following station
Terminus   Caledonian MacBrayne
Islay Ferry 		  Kennacraig
Terminus   Kintyre Express
April to October 		  Ballycastle

Notable people

George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Labour politician and former Secretary General of NATO was born in Port Ellen[7] on 12 April 1946.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. ^ The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. 2007. p. 546. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.
  3. ^ a b "Port Ellen". Isle of Islay. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Port Ellen Distillery". Islay Whisky. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  5. ^ "Port Ellen". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  6. ^ Walker, Frank Arneil (2005). The Buildings of Scotland. Argyll and Bute. Yale University Press. p. 552. ISBN 9780300096705.
  7. ^ "George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen". Biographicon.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2009.

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