British Museum to loan six Lewis chessmen to Scotland

Six of the Lewis chessmen are to go on permanent display at Lews Castle, Stornoway, from 2014 as part of a loan agreement between the Western Isles Council and the British Museum. 

The medieval chess pieces will be displayed in a new museum funded by a £4.6m Heritage Lottery Fund grant and supported by National Museums Scotland (NMS) and the British Museum. 

Angus Campbell, the leader of the Comhairle, said: ‘The presence of the Lewis Chessmen on the islands where they were found is highly appropriate and significant for the Outer Hebrides, and will support the substantial investment committed to the Lews Castle Museum and Archive project.‘

The new loan agreement follows last year’s touring exhibition of the Lewis Chessmen across Scotland. A five-month exhibition at the Museum nan Eilean on Stornoway attracted over 23,000 visitors.

Since 1995 there has been an agreement between the British Museum and Museum nan Eilean to loan the chessmen periodically. NMS owns 11 pieces, with the remaining 82 held by the British Museum.

The Scottish National Party has previously called for the pieces to be returned to the Western Isles.

To find out more about the Lewis chessmen, click here.