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Port Ellen
Port Ellen, Islay.jpg
Port Ellen
Port Ellen is located in Argyll and Bute
Port Ellen
Port Ellen
Population 810 (2020)
OS grid reference NR365455
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ISLE OF ISLAY
Postcode district PA42
Dialling code 01496
Police Strathclyde
Fire Strathclyde
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
  • Argyll and Bute
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°38′N 6°11′W / 55.63°N 6.18°W / 55.63; -6.18

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. 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.

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. Nearby lie the ruined remains of the 14th-century Dunyvaig Castle, once a fortress of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles.

The current town was planned by Walter Frederick Campbell and founded in 1821 originally intended to support the herring industry. 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 on 12 April 1946.

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