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Birsay
Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient monuments in the parish. Ancient monuments Two important ancient monuments are maintained by Historic Scotland and bring many visitors to the area in summer. These are the prehistoric and Norse settlements on the tidal island of Brough of Birsay and the ruins of the Earl's Palace on the Mainland opposite, at the northern end of the village. On the western part of Mainland Orkney's north shore there is other evidence of prehistoric man, including the well preserved ruins of the Broch of Gurness. Earl's Palace The late 16th century palace was built by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533–93). Though extensively ruined, it can be seen to have consisted of four ranges round an open courtyard, with small towers at the corners, an u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brough Of Birsay
The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern light house. Geography and geology The island is accessible on foot at low tide via a largely natural causeway. It is separated from the mainland by a stretch of water at high tide: the Sound of Birsay. Retrieved 1 August 2007. The Norse settlement has been partly removed by , and the cliffs are reinforced by concrete |
St Magnus Church, Birsay
St Magnus Church, Birsay is a 17th century church located in the parish of Birsay on Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. Built in 1664 on the site of an earlier, 11th century church, St Magnus was later expanded in 1760 and 1867. The graveyard surrounding the church dates to the 18th century. The church is now maintained by the St Magnus Church Birsay Trust. Description St Magnus's Church is located in the village of Birsay in the northwest area of Mainland, Orkney in Scotland. It is a rectangular building with a harled exterior, round-headed windows and gabled ends. The western gable contains an original birdcage style belfry. The church has a small southwest porch, possibly dating from the 1867 remodel. The church has a plain interior, its only adornment an early 20th century, three-panel stained glass window, decorated with images of the Crucifixion and the life of St Magnus. In the north and south walls are remnants of the earlier medieval church. These include a narrow bloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl's Palace, Birsay
The Earl's Palace in Birsay, Orkney, Scotland, is a ruined 16th-century castle. It was built by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533–1593), illegitimate son of King James V and his mistress Euphemia Elphinstone. The palace is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. History The castle was constructed in two phases. The first phase of work, begun in the 1570s, consisted of the great hall located in the south range, above the main door. Beside this was Lord Orkney's private chamber in the south-east corner tower. An inscription above the entrance, dated 1574, marks this phase. The second phase, completed in the 1580s, saw a new range containing a great hall and chamber built on the north side of the courtyard. The second phase probably followed Robert's acquisition of the Earldom of Orkney in 1581. After the death of Robert Stewart, the palace was used only occasionally by later earls of Orkney, and was not occupied after the mid-17th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Leslie, Lord Birsay
Harald Robert Leslie, Lord Birsay, KT, CBE, TD, QC, DL (8 May 1905 – 27 November 1982) was a Scottish lawyer and judge, and Chairman of the Scottish Land Court. Early life Leslie was born on 8 May 1905, the son of Robert Leslie, Master Mariner, and educated at Earlston School, Berwickshire High School, and the High School of Glasgow. He studied at the University of Glasgow, first studying Arts ( MA, 1927) and then at the University's School of Law (LLB, 1930). He was admitted as a solicitor in 1930 and to the Faculty of Advocates in 1937. He had been a member of the Officers' Training Corps while at school and university, and during the Second World War served in the Royal Scots, being appointed a military Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and mentioned in despatches. Legal career Following the War, Leslie was appointed Standing Counsel to the Department of Agriculture, becoming an Advocate Depute in 1947. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1949, and in 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney Mainland
The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. Etymology The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse . Formerly the island was also known as meaning 'horse island'. The island is sometimes referred to as '' Pomona'' (or ''Pomonia''), a name that stems from a 16th-century mis-translation by George Buchanan.Buchanan, George (1582''Rerum Scoticarum Historia: The First Book''The University of California, Irvine. Revised 8 March 2003. Retrieved 4 Octo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, Orkney, Mainland, has an area of , making it the List of islands of Scotland, sixth-largest Scottish island and the List of islands of the British Isles, tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney’s largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall. Orkney is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland, council areas of Scotland, as well as a Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency), constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area, and an counties of Scotland, historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheebin Standing Stone
The Wheebin Standing stone (or Stane O' Quoybune) is an ancient, tall standing stone located in the parish of Birsay, in the north west of the mainland of Orkney, Scotland. It was erected in the 2nd millennium BC. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1937. Location The stone is located in the parish of Birsay, southeast of the village of Birsay, on the mainland of Orkney in Scotland. The monolith stands in a field on private property next to the road and is from the western edge of the Loch of Boardhouse. Description The stone is in height, approximately wide and narrows gradually to the top, with an average thickness of . The Wheebin stone slopes up slightly towards the north-northwest. It shows signs of severe weathering, with one deep crevice displayed from the middle of the stone to the top. The constant rubbing of domestic animals over the years have polished the surface of the lower half of the stone. The stone ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Magnus Cathedral
St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney. It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney's annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468. It has its own dungeon. Construction began in 1137, and it was added to over the next 300 years. The first bishop was William the Old, and the diocese was under the authority of the Archbishop of Nidaros in Norway. It was for Bishop William that the nearby Bishop's Palace was built. Before the Reformation, the cathedral was presided over by the Bishop of Orkney, whose seat was in Kirkwall. Today, it is a parish church of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and therefore technicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scalloway Castle
Scalloway Castle is a tower house in Scalloway, on the Shetland Mainland, the largest island in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The tower was built in 1600 by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney, during his brief period as de facto ruler of Shetland. History In 1564, Robert Stewart (1533–1593), illegitimate son of King James V, was granted lands in Orkney and Shetland and subsequently established himself as a powerful but unscrupulous figure in the islands. Despite numerous complaints against him for seizing lands and misusing taxes, Stewart was later made Earl of Orkney and Lord of Shetland by King James VI. He remained unpopular with the local lairds, and they subsequently turned the king against Stewart, who died impoverished in 1593, having had his earldom revoked in 1587. Robert Stewart's son Patrick (c. 1566 – 6 February 1615), who had been on unfriendly terms with his father, remained in the king's favour and was himself created Lord of Shetland in 1590. He effec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl Of Orkney
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to Mary, Queen of Scots and uncle to James VI and I of Scotland and England. Biography In 1539 Robert Stewart was made Commendator of Holyrood Abbey, and Commendator of Charlieu Abbey in France by 1557. In 1550, after the conclusion of the war known the Rough Wooing, he accompanied his step-mother Mary of Guise on a visit to the French court. During the Reformation Crisis, on 9 February 1560 he testified against the Hamiltons, the Duke of Châtellerault and Earl of Arran, and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation to James MacGill and John Bellenden of Auchnoule. They were collecting evidence for Henri Cleutin and Jacques de la Brosse, the French advisors of Mary of Guise who planned to have the Hamiltons charged with treason against h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Trail
Samuel Trail (1806–1887) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1874. Life He was born in the parish of Udny on 31 May 1806, the son of John T. Trail, a farmer. He studied divinity at Kings College, Aberdeen University, graduating MA in 1825. He then spent some years as the private tutor to the children of the Viscount of Arbuthnott. In 1841 he was appointed minister of Arbuthnott Church and stayed in this role until 1844, when he was translated to Birsay church in Orkney. He lived there until 1868. In 1847 he was granted an honorary doctorate by King's College (LLD) and in 1852 was additionally created a Doctor of Divinity (DD). In 1868 he was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at the newly amalgamated Aberdeen University. He also served as provost of Old Aberdeen. He lived at the Divinity Manse at the university.Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1870 He died on 1 May 1887. He is buried against the outer eas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirkwall
Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkvoe'', ''Kirkwaa'' and ''Kirkwall''. Kirkwall was formerly the site of an ancient Norse town founded approximately 1000 years ago. Today, it is a transport hub with ferries to many locations. History The town was first mentioned in in the year 1046, when it was recorded as the residence of , the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a royal burgh. On the western edge of the town, surrounded by Hatston Industrial Estate, there is a prehistoric monument, known as the "Grain Earth House" (see Historic Scotland). It is a short, low, stone-walled passage, deep underground, leading to a small pillared chamber. This kind of earth house (or "souterrai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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