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Westray
Westray (, sco, Westree) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry service to nearby Papa Westray island. Westray has a number of archeological sites dating from 3500 BC, and remains of several Norse-Viking settlements. The spectacular sea cliffs around Noup Head are home to thousands of seabirds. Geography and geology Westray has an area of , making it the sixth largest of the Orkney Islands. The underlying geology is Rousay type Middle Old Red Sandstone, the flagstones of which make excellent building materials. There is very little peat and the soil is noted for its fertility. History At the time of the earliest known settlements, c. 3500 BC, in Westray and neighbouring Papa Westray, it is believed that the two islands were joined.Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papa Westray
Papa Westray () ( sco, Papa Westree), also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soilKeay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins. has long been a draw to the island. Attractions on the island include Holland House with an associated folk museum A folk museum is a museum that deals with folk culture and heritage. Such museums cover local life in rural communities. A folk museum typically displays historical objects that were used as part of the people's everyday lives. Examples of such ... and the Knap of Howar Neolithic farmstead run by Historic Scotland. It is the ninth largest of the Orkney Islands with an area of . The island's population was 90 as recorded by the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, an increase of over 35% since 2001 when there were only 65 usual residents. During the same period, List of Scottish islands, Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% ... [...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] |
Orkney Islands
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, has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney’s largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall. Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and an historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. The islands have been inhabited for at least years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westray Wife
The Westray Wife (also known as the Orkney Venus) is a small Neolithic figurine, in height, carved from sandstone. It was discovered during an Historic Scotland dig at the Links of Noltland, on Westray, Orkney, Scotland, in the summer of 2009. It was the first Neolithic carving of a human form to have been found in Scotland, and to date it is the earliest depiction of a face found in the United Kingdom. A second figurine of about the same size and shape as the Westray Wife, but made from clay, and missing its head, was discovered by archaeologists at the same Links of Noltland site during the summer of 2010. This figurine, in height, has a rectangular panel decorated with triangles on the front of its torso, which may represent a tunic, and a punched hole in the centre of its stomach. A number of small clay balls have also been discovered at the site, and it is possible that these were intended for use as heads for similar figurines. A third figurine was discovered in 2012. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are the Hebrides. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands. The landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrast with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and on the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both island groups have a developing renewable energy industry. Both have a Picts, Pictish and Norse activity in the British Isles, Norse history. Both were part of the Norway, Kingdom of Norway until they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. They remained part of it until the 1707 formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 1801 formation of the United Kingdom. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierowall
Pierowall is a village of Westray in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of the northern Scottish mainland. The village is the island's largest settlement and lies near its northern end, around Pierowall Bay. It has a variety of historical remains dating from the Neolithic, the Iron Age, the Middle Ages, and later, including a large pagan Norse cemetery. In 1961 it had a population of 108. Facilities Although it is only a village on an island which had a total population of 563 at the census of 2001, Pierowall has a post office, a bank, a junior high school, shops, a hotel, and a fire station. Communications Supplementing the ferries which come into Pierowall Harbour, some seven miles to the south of the village is the main ferry terminal at Rapness, on the southernmost tip of Westray, which has better ferry links with Papa Westray and Kirkwall. Pierowall has a maritime climate, with cool summers, mild winters, strong winds, and above average rainfall. Visitors can stay in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Links Of Noltland
Links of Noltland is a large prehistoric settlement located on the north coast of the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The extensive ruins includes several late Neolithic and early Bronze Age dwellings and is place of discovery of the Westray Wife figurine, first uncovered during an excavation in 2009. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 1993. Location Links of Noltland is located south of the Bay of Grobust on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. Close to the site is the Knowe of Queen o' Howe broch and further south is Noltland Castle. Description The ancient settlement, dating from around 3300 BCE to 800 BCE, contains several late Neolithc and Bronze Age structural ruins, now buried beneath sand dunes. During excavations between 1978 and 1981, large midden deposits, structural remains, and field walls, which indicated evidence of prehistoric cultivation and field boundaries, were uncovered. Among the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quoygrew Settlement, Westray
Quoygrew, Westray is the site of a medieval Norse settlement on the island of Westray in Orkney, Scotland. Established as a small farmstead most likely between 900 and 1000 AD, and later expanded in 1200, Quoygrew includes the remains of medieval and post-medieval buildings that range in date from the 10th to the 16th centuries. The farmstead has been in continuously occupied until the early 20th century. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 2014. Description The ruins of the medieval settlement, also known as ''Nether Trenabie'' in the 19th century, are located on the island of Westray, in Orkney, Scotland. The settlement can be seen as two low mounds, one near the shoreline, and the other inland and to the east of the first mound. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 2014. The monument comprises a area, and includes the remains of late Viking Age and medieval era dwellings, middens, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Kirk
The Lady Kirk (or St Mary's Kirk) at Pierowall is a ruined 17th-century church on the island of Westray, in Orkney, Scotland. The church was built in 1674, on the foundations of the 13th-century church. Two 17th-century grave-slabs, in excellent condition, are set into the interior wall of the chancel and are now protected by glass screens. The graves display fine lettering and 17th-century images of mortality, engraved in high relief. Historic Environment Scotland established the site as a scheduled monument in 2014. Description The Lady Kirk was originally built in the 13th century. There is very little that remains of the original medieval building except for the bottom of the south wall of the nave, the base of the west gable and a portion the chancel arch. In 1674, the nave was expanded, and the chancel was rebuilt as a "laird's aisle". Between the nave and chancel is a red sandstone arch. The nave was originally by , but the remodel expanded the space by . The chancel is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gilbert Balfour
Gilbert Balfour (died 1576) was a 16th-century Scottish courtier and mercenary captain. He probably played the leading role in the murder of Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the second son of Andrew Balfour of Mountquhanie in Kilmany, Fife, and Janet Bruce. Balfour married Margaret Bothwell, the sister of Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney who endowed him with the isle of Westray, when it was episcopal property. In 1565 Mary, Queen of Scots, appointed him her Master of Household, a leading servant responsible for wages and the provision of food. At Noltland on Westray, he had built one of the most impressive castles in the Orkney Islands, and indeed the Northern Isles. It is situated above the Bay of Pierowall, was built in the 1560s. It is notable for an unusually large spiral staircase, "second only to Fyvie Castle, while its triple tiers of gunloops are without parallel in Scotland, if not Europe".Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noltland Castle
Noltland Castle is located near Pierowall on the island of Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It dates mainly to the later 16th century, although it was never fully completed. The castle is protected as a scheduled monument. History In 1560, Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney, granted the lands of Noltland to his brother-in-law Gilbert Balfour, who built the castle. Balfour was Master of the Royal Household to Mary, Queen of Scots, and was involved in the plot to kill her husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. After Mary's deposition and exile, he continued to support the queen. Noltland was seized by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, an opponent of Mary's supporters, but he was forced to hand it back to Balfour in the early 1570s. Balfour was executed in Sweden in 1576, and, in 1598, the castle was again seized by the Earl of Orkney (now Patrick Stewart, son of Robert). By 1606, the castle had been restored to the Balfours once more, when it was sold to Sir John Arnot, Lord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knap Of Howar
The Knap of Howar () on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland is a Neolithic farmstead which may be the oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe. Radiocarbon dating shows that it was occupied from 3700 BC to 2800 BC, earlier than the similar houses in the settlement at Skara Brae on the Orkney Mainland. The site The farmstead consists of two adjacent rounded rectangular thick-walled stone buildings with very low doorways facing the sea. The larger and older structure is linked by a low passageway to the other building, which has been interpreted as a workshop or a second house. They were constructed on an earlier midden, and were surrounded by midden material which has protected them. There are no windows; the structures were presumably lit by fire, with a hole in the roof to let out smoke. Though they now stand close to the shore, they would have originally lain inland. The shore shows how the local stone splits into thin slabs, giving a ready source of constr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
