Leverburgh
Leverburgh
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 Most of the houses at Leverburgh are spread out along the eastern side of the A859 |
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 Leverburgh
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| Leverburgh shown within the Outer Hebrides | |
| Language |
Scottish Gaelic English |
| OS grid reference | NG014863 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLE OF HARRIS |
| Postcode district | HS3 |
| Dialling code | 01851 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Leverburgh (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òb or possibly An Tòb) is the second largest village, after Tarbert, on the island of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Leverburgh is within the parish of Harris.
In his 30s, English businessman William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme had taken a boat trip and fallen in love with the Western Isles of Scotland. In May 1918, at the age of 66, he bought the Isle of Lewis for £167,000, convinced that he could resurrect the fishing industry. But his investment floundered in 1919 when servicemen, demobilised from the First World War and promised land, started occupying plots on the Isle of Lewis. Leverhulme protested and took legal action against the people he considered squatters, but the Scottish Office took the side of the ex-servicemen, leaving Leverhulme's plan in tatters.
Still looking to develop his fishing plan, in late 1919 he purchased the South Harris estate from the Earl of Dunmore for the sum of £36,000. Taking in the fishing village of Obbe (deriving from a Norse word for a bay), he planned to turn it into a consolidated major fishing centre, with fish distributed through the 400+ Mac Fisheries fishmonger shops. He chose the site because it gave access to the waters of both the Minch and the Atlantic and his boats could always find sheltered fishing waters.
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Wikipedia