Trondheim, Norway, though some scholars have alternatively suggested Icelandic or local Hebridean manufacture. They are usually thought to have been brought to Lewis as part of a merchant's wares.

The chessmen were discovered in 1831. Most accounts have said they were found at Uig Bay on the west coast of Lewis, but Caldwell et al. of National Museums Scotland consider that Mealista, which is also in the parish of Uig