115063: Stornoway Parish School

The Stornoway Parish School, originally known as the Parochial School or the Established Church School, was connected to St Columba’s Parish Church. It came into existence in the early 18th century and was a school for the offspring of tacksmen, merchants and clergy.

It taught English, writing, arithmetic, Latin, geography, navigation, and book-keeping. Quarterly fees were chaged based on the subjects learnt.

Alexander Anderson was a teacher here; his noteable students included Sir Alexander Mackenzie, amongst others.

According to reports from the 1790s the schoolmaster was initially provided with a slate-roofed dwelling house, built of stone and lime, a garden and land rent free, but a 1833 report mentions that the teacher no longer had legal accomodation.