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Balfour Castle
Balfour Castle is a historic building on the southwest of Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. Though built around an older structure that dates at least from the 18th century, the present castle was built in 1847, commissioned by Colonel David Balfour, and designed by Edinburgh architect David Bryce. It is a Category A listed building and the landscape and formal gardens are listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. As of 2021, the castle was operating as a hotel. Prehistory The small island of Shapinsay has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the most notable evidence being the extant Broch of Burroughston, located not far from Balfour Castle to the northeast;C. Michael Hogan. 2007 moreover, the Mor Stein standing stone dating to the stone age is found also to the east of Balfour Castle, evidencing even earlier presence of man in the vicinity. See also *Balfour, Orkney *Mill Dam, Shapinsay *Vasa Loch Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balfour Castle, Angus
Balfour Castle was a baronial mansion at Balfour Mains, near Kirkton of Kingoldrum, Angus, Scotland. The castle which was built in the 16th century is largely demolished except for a six-storey circular tower. A farm house has been built incorporating some of the ruins in c. 1845. The farmhouse and castle remains were designated as a Category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ... in 1971. References {{Authority control Castles in Angus, Scotland Castle, Angus Category B listed buildings in Angus, Scotland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mor Stein
Mor Stein is a neolithic standing stone in the southeastern part of the island of Shapinsay, Orkney Islands, Scotland. Shapinsay is one of the two large inner islands of the Orkney group, and it is situated approximately two miles north of the Orkney Mainland. Linton Bay is situated slightly to the northeast of Mor Stein. Mor Stein is a vertical standing stone of approximately in height, which is unshaped and uncarved and stands in a field somewhat separate from any other man-made features of the island. A few miles to the north is Burroughston Broch with its earth cladding intact, allowing visitors to peer down into the broch A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin ... from above. See also * * References Prehistoric Orkney Archaeological sites in Orkney Shapi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country Houses In Orkney
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the country of Wales is a component of a multi-part sovereign state, the United Kingdom. A country may be a historically sovereign area (such as Korea), a currently sovereign territory with a unified government (such as Senegal), or a non-sovereign geographic region associated with certain distinct political, ethnic, or cultural characteristics (such as the Basque Country). The definition and usage of the word "country" is flexible and has changed over time. ''The Economist'' wrote in 2010 that "any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies." Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations. The largest country by area is Russia, while the smallest is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inventory Of Gardens And Designed Landscapes
The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a continually evolving list. From 1991 it was maintained by Historic Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, and is now updated by a dedicated team within Historic Environment Scotland. As of 2016 the Inventory includes over 300 sites across Scotland. Background Unlike listed building status, there is no statutory basis for the Inventory, and inclusion of a site on the Inventory does not offer any legal protection. However, under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, planning authorities are required to consult Historic Environment Scotland on "development which may affect a historic garden or designed landscape".Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement (2016) pp.24–26, para 2.77 Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castles In Orkney
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a ''pleasance'' which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th-20th century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasa Loch
Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. (Ordnance, 2002) This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape and size to its current geometry, separated from the North Sea by a narrow strip of raised beach.(Masters, 1840) Vasa Loch is fed by small rivulets and upland springs that rise on the western part of the island's western spur. pH levels of the loch are strongly alkaline, in the range of 10.15. (Hogan, 2006) Geology The particular landform associated with Vasa Loch is an ''ayre'', derived from the Old Norse word used to depict a lake which is only separated by a narrow strip of low-lying land from the sea itself.(Shapinsay) Notes *Ordnance Survey Map, Landranger, United Kingdom, 1:50,000 (2002) * G.T, Masters, ''Orkney, Approaches to Kirkwall'', HMS official survey map, 1840-1843 *C.M Hogan, ''Natural History of the Orkney Islands'' (2006)Shapinsay Island, Orkney See also *Balfour Castle *Burroughston Broch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mill Dam, Shapinsay
Mill Dam is a wetland in western Shapinsay, in Orkney, Scotland. This water body was not shown on the 1840 survey map of the island, since it is a man-made creation from a damming in the 1880s.G.T, Masters, ''Orkney, Approaches to Kirkwall'', HMS official survey map, 1840-1843 Mill Dam is fed by a stream flowing from the north that rises on the western lobe of Shapinsay. The pH levels of the outflow stream of Mill Dam are moderately alkaline, in the range of 9.18. The Mill Dam wetland is a significant bird habitat and is owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. See also *Balfour Castle *Burroughston Broch *The Ouse *Vasa Loch Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. (Ordnance, 2002) This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape and size to its current geometry, separated from the North Sea by a narr ... Footnotes External linksShapinsay Island, Orkney Dams in Scotland Wetla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balfour, Orkney
Balfour is a village on the island of Shapinsay, Orkney. The village is situated on Elwick Bay, which was used as an anchorage by Haakon IV of Norway before sailing south to eventual defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263. Today, the village still possesses a harbour, with mock defensive walls constructed at the same time as the castle. David Balfour even added a stone marked with the date 1725, taken from Noltland Castle on the island of Westray, to his defences. A car ferry to Kirkwall, operated by Orkney Ferries, sails from a pier at the harbour. This became a roll-on/roll-off service in 1990. History Originally known as Shoreside, Balfour was built in the 1780s by Thomas Balfour, a former tenant farmer who acquired a private income by marrying the sister of an Earl. With his new-found wealth, Balfour purchased the estate of Sound, whose estate house had been burned down in revenge for the then owner's support of the Jacobite rising of 1745. In 1782, to make way for a new r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standing Stone
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top. They are widely distributed across Europe, Africa and Asia, but are most numerous in Western Europe; particularly in Ireland, Great Britain, and Brittany, where there are about 50,000 examples, and northwestern France, where there are some 1,200 further examples. Standing stones are usually difficult to date. They were constructed during many different periods across pre-history as part of the larger megalithic cultures in Europe and near areas. Some menhirs stand next to buildings that have an early or current religious significance. One example is the South Zeal Menhir in Devon, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broch Of Burroughston
Burroughston Broch is an Iron Age broch located on the island of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland (). The site overlooks the North Sea on the northeast part of Shapinsay. Excavated in the mid 19th century, Burroughston Broch is still well-preserved. The drystone walls are up to four metres thick in some parts and there is a complete chamber intact off the entrance passage. Some remains of stone fittings are evident in the interior. Location Burroughston Broch overlooks the North Sea at the northeast corner of Shapinsay island, about 4 miles from the ferry pier. Slightly to the south lies Linton Bay. The broch stands at the foot of a gently sloping field just above the low rocky shoreline. It is one of the best preserved brochs in Orkney. Description The walls of Burroughston Broch have an external diameter of around 18 metres, and an internal diameter of around 10 metres. From the outside, the building appears as a grassy mound, and little of the outer wall is expos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castle Balfour
Castle Balfour is a castle situated in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It sits at the edge of the parish graveyard just west of Main Street. The castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, in the Fermanagh and Omagh district area, at grid ref: H3622 3369. History ''Castle-skeagh'' was granted to Michael Balfour, Lord Balfour of Burleigh from Fife, Scotland, by King James I in the Plantation of Ulster. He sold his lands in Fermanagh to his younger brother James, Lord Balfour of Glenawley in 1615. In 1618/19 Captain Nicholas Pynnar reported that Balfour had begun his building at Castle-skeagh. The village of Lisnaskea developed around it. The castle was altered in 1652 and damaged in 1689. The last person to possess and inhabit the Castle was James Haire (1737-1833) who leased the castle from John Creighton, Earl Erne. James Haire and his family ceased to occupy the castle after it was destroyed by an arson-based fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inventory Of Gardens And Designed Landscapes In Scotland
The ''Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland'' is a listing of gardens and designed landscapes of national artistic and/or historical significance, in Scotland. The Inventory was originally compiled in 1987, although it is a continually evolving list. From 1991 it was maintained by Historic Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, and is now updated by a dedicated team within Historic Environment Scotland. As of 2016 the Inventory includes over 300 sites across Scotland. Background Unlike listed building status, there is no statutory basis for the Inventory, and inclusion of a site on the Inventory does not offer any legal protection. However, under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, planning authorities are required to consult Historic Environment Scotland on "development which may affect a historic garden or designed landscape".Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement (2016) pp.24–26, para 2.77 Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
