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Shapinsay
Shapinsay (, sco, Shapinsee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. Balfour Castle, built in the Scottish Baronial style, is one of the island's most prominent features, a reminder of the Balfour family's domination of Shapinsay during the 18th and 19th centuries; the Balfours transformed life on the island by introducing new agricultural techniques. Other landmarks include a standing stone, an Iron Age broch, a souterrain and a salt-water shower. With an area of , Shapinsay is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and fertile, consequently most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life. At the 2011 census, Shapinsay had a population of 307. The economy of the island is primarily based on agriculture with the exception of a fe ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
List Of Orkney Islands
This is a list of Orkney islands in Scotland. The Orkney archipelago is located north of mainland Scotland and comprises over 70 islands and skerries, of which 20 are permanently inhabited. In addition to the Orkney Mainland there are three groups of islands. The North and South Isles lie respectively north and south of Mainland. The Pentland Skerries are a group of small islands in the Pentland Firth, a dangerous stretch of water between mainland Scotland and the larger islands of Orkney, through which run the strongest tidal streams in Britain. The Island of Stroma is often mistakenly included with the Orkney Islands, but is part of Caithness. The definition of an island used in this list is that it is 'land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways'. There are four islands joined to the Orkney Mainland by a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. They are S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Hartsyde
Margaret Hartsyde or Hairtsyde ( fl. 1600–1640) was a Scottish servant, jewel thief, and landowner. A servant of the queen, Anne of Denmark, Hartsyde's duties included looking after the queen's jewels, dealing with the goldsmith George Heriot, and handling large sums of money. Servant of a queen Margaret Hartsyde was a daughter of Malcolm Hartsyde of Kirkwall, Orkney. She is first recorded as one of the serving women in Anne of Denmark's chamber in 1601. She came with the queen to England in 1603. When the court was at Winchester in September 1603 the queen ordered fabrics for new clothes for Hartsyde and other women who had made the journey from Scotland, including Anne Livingstone, Margaret Stewart, and Jean Drummond. She subsequently married another royal servant called John Buchanan, before 11 August 1603, when they were given a joint pension of £200 annually. In 1603, the French ambassador, the Marquis de Rosny, gave Anne of Denmark a mirror of Venice crystal in a gold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Souterrain
''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses. The term ''souterrain'' has been used as a distinct term from ''fogou'' meaning 'cave'. In Cornwall the regional name of ''fogou'' ( Cornish for 'cave') is applied to souterrain structures. The design of underground structures has been shown to differ among regions; for example, in western Cornwall the design and function of the fogou appears to correlate with a larder use. Etymology The name ''souterrain'' comes from the French language (''sous-terrain'' or ''souterrain''), in which it means "underground passageway" or refers to subterranea in general. In languages other than English, it is sometimes used to mean " basement", especial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 and definition The word ''broch'' is derived from Lowland Scots 'brough', meaning (among other things) fort. In the mid-19th century Scottish antiquaries called brochs 'burgs', after Old Norse ', with the same meaning. Place names in Scandinavian Scotland such as Burgawater and Burgan show that Old Norse ' is the older word used for these structures in the north. Brochs are often referred to as ''duns'' in the west. Antiquarians began to use the spelling ''broch'' in the 1870s. A precise definition for the word has proved elusive. Brochs are the most spectacular of a complex class of roundhouse buildings found throughout Atlantic Scotland. The Shetland Amenity Trust lists about 120 sites in Shetland as candidate brochs, while the Royal C ... [...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] |
John Gow
John Gow (c. 1698–11 June 1725) was a notorious pirate whose short career was immortalised by Charles Johnson in the 1725 work ''The History and Lives of All the Most Notorious Pirates and Their Crews''. Little is known of his life, except from an account by Daniel Defoe, which is often considered unreliable, the report on his execution, and an account by Mr. Alan Fea, descendant of his captor, published in 1912, almost two centuries after his death. Early life Gow was probably born in Wick, Caithness, to William Gow, a merchant, and Margaret Calder. He was raised in Stromness, Orkney, where he went to school and learned to sail a ship. Pirate Prior to August 1724 he crewed a voyage from London to Lisbon and back, during which he plotted to seize control of the vessel. He failed to attract sufficient numbers, however, and the effort went nowhere. In London, word spread about the attempt, so Gow fled to Amsterdam, where he joined the Santa Cruz-bound ''Caroline'' as second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacobite Rising Of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi .... At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, local landowner the John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675–1732), Earl of Mar raised the Jacobite standard on 27 August. Aiming to capture Stirling Castle, he was checked by the much-outnumbered Hanoverians, commanded by the John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Duke of Argyll, at Sheriffmuir on 13 November. There was no clear result, but the Earl appeared to believe, mistakenly, that he had won the battle, and left the field. After the Jacobite surrender at Battle of Preston (1715), Preston (14 Novem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the PlayStation 2. The series is notable for its emphasis on open world exploration, Nonlinear gameplay, non-linear branching plots, and occasionally unconventional gameplay. This distinguishes the games from most of Square's other franchises. Development The ''SaGa'' series was created by game designer Akitoshi Kawazu, whose contributions prior to the franchise's introduction include ''Final Fantasy (video game), Final Fantasy'' and ''Final Fantasy II''. At a time when Nintendo's Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Hanover
The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house originated in 1635 as a cadet branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, growing in prestige until Hanover became an Electorate in 1692. George I became the first Hanoverian monarch of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714. At Queen Victoria's death in 1901, the throne of the United Kingdom passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The last reigning members of the House lost the Duchy of Brunswick in 1918 when Germany became a republic. The formal name of the house was the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line. The senior line of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, became extinct in 1884. The House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
