The 18th-century mansion of Francisco Tomás Guerra Clavijo

Casa del Mayor Guerra, also known as El Castillo, is a mansion from the 18th century in San Bartolomé, Lanzarote. Built in 1764 by Francisco Tomás Guerra Clavijo, son of the military man Cayetano Lorenzo Guerra Duarte and Maria de los Reyes Clavijo y Figueroa, the mansion stands on the southeast slope of the Montaña de La Cruz.

Francisco Tomás Guerra Clavijo, known as Mayor Guerra, was a military man who served as the gobernador militar de Armas de Lanzarote from 1793 until his death in 1808. He lived in this imposing house with his wife, María Andrea Perdomo Gutiérrez. He also served in other roles, including alguacil mayor, regidor, and dean of the Ayuntamiento de San Bartolomé.

One of his sons, Cayetano Guerra Perdomo, was the first priest of the new San Bartolomé parish. Another son, Lorenzo Bartolomé Guerra Perdomo, inherited the role of gobernador militar after his father's death, but lost the position due to disputes with Teguise. The house features a large, unroofed central patio and a large stone window with an arch on the south side.

The door, made of wood with two leaves, is located at the naciente of the building. The house originally had wood made of tea (heart of Canary pine) and furniture of diverse origin, most of which were stripped during the period of abandonment.

In 1986, the owners decided to donate the house to the Ayuntamiento de San Bartolomé to be restored and opened as a local history museum. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural and a Monumento Histórico Artístico in 1986.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons