Living the dream – the trophy homes paid for by opium

Alison Campsie tells of the vast expenditure laid out by the trade barons who came home after forcing China to respect their wishes

The Highland family which raised vast amounts of wealth from the 19th century opium trade in China embedded their fortune in the walls of several castles and trophy homes built on their return to Scotland.

Sir James Matheson and his nephew, Sir Alexander, plunged the profits from their enterprises in the Far East into at least four landmark homes across the Highlands with grand innovations often deployed on the building projects.

Their legacy can be seen on the Isle of Lewis in Stornoway and Uig as well as through Ross and Cromarty.

Both men returned to Scotland around 1840 as the first Opium War was launched to protect British trading interests in China.

By this point, the volume of opium being brought into China by traders like the Mathesons, who originally channeled opium from India into China through the East India Company, had created a serious social problem.

Four out of five adults in the coastal areas smoked the drug and it was estimated that 20 per cent of central government officials and 80 per cent of the country’s clerk puffed on the opium pipe.

China went on to destroy large cargoes of opium in a bid to control the problem, but the British, following lobbying from Sir James, coowner of Jardine, Matheson and Co, launched the Opium Wars in a bid to protect trade routes.

The Matheson men came home and invested heavily in their influence and legacy in their home country.

Sir James, who was born in Lairg, Sutherland, bought the Isle of Lewis for £190,000 in 1844 and set about building Lews Castle at Stornoway and Uig Lodge overlooking the bay at Timsgarry to the far west of the island.

At Stornoway, the new island residence, which is now home to Museum nan Eilean, was created on the site of the old lodge of clan chief Mackenzie Seaforth.

Trees were imported to turn the sparse terrain into an extensive woodland for the retired merchant, who went on to become a Liberal MP.

According to Stornoway Historical Society, the creation of the castle grounds involved the clearance of tenants and the rerouting of public roads, which did not endear the new proprietor to the local population.

“To balance this, it must be noted that during his period of ownership, Sir James Matheson provided employment, funded famine relief and many other social and economic projects for the benefit of the island community,” a society publication said.

Matheson spent a further £200,000 on island improvements including 160 miles of road, schools and three harbours in an attempt to kickstart the island economy.

At Uig, Sir James overcame the challenging geography of the site – and the problem of moving large volumes of building material – to create the first domestic property in Scotland made of concrete.

The sand required came from the northwest at Loch Stacsavat and was carried by local women in kists on their backs at 3d a trip.

Meanwhile, Sir Alexander, who was a partner in the trading company, returned to Scotland in 1839 and bought up vast tracts of land across the Highlands incuding Ardintoul Estate and Ardross Estate in Rossshire. In 1851, Sir Alexander bought the feudal barony of Lochalsh with the building of Duncraig Castle on 0 Sir James Matheson (above) and hisnephewbuiltseveralhomes on their return from China, including Duncraig Castle near Plockton (top) and Ardross Castle near Inverness. Pictures: Flickr/richard Szwekjowski/ www.geograph.org. the south shore of Loch Carron possibly his most ambitious project.

As chairman of the Northern Railways, he built Duncraig railway station to service his new castle with a little octagonal waiting room, now a listed building, built for his visitors. The extended line was at the time one of the most expensive railway projects per mile of construction. Much rock had to be blasted, cuttings were created and large revetment works were required where the railway hugged the coastline.

Opened in 1897 as a private station, it is now open to the public.