Heylor is a settlement situated on the south side of Ronas Voe in

Northmavine Northmavine or Northmaven ( non, Norðan Mæfeið, meaning ‘the land north of the Mavis Grind’) is a peninsula in northwest Mainland Shetland in Scotland. The peninsula has historically formed the civil parish Northmavine. The modern Northmav ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

, Scotland. It lies directly opposite

Ronas Hill Ronas Hill (or Rönies Hill) is a hill in Shetland, Scotland. It is classed as a Marilyn, and is the highest point in the Shetland Islands at an elevation of . A Neolithic chambered cairn is located near the summit. Location Ronas Hill (, meani ...

, Shetland's tallest mountain.

Etymology

The name ''Heylor'' comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''hellir'' meaning cave or cavern, of which there are several (most only accessible by sea) on the west side of Ronas Voe.

History

One of the earliest mentions of Heylor could be in a document describing the division of Hans Sigurdson's property in 1490, by which it is referred to as ''Heleland''. Heylor also appears in a 1545 document confirming an agreement in an older 1516 document stipulating the transfer of land between Udal landowners. ''Heelle'' is believed to refer to Heylor. There used to be a post office in Heylor, which gives rise to the fact that many residences several miles away from Heylor still retain ''Heylor'' in their postal addresses.

Notes

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Sources

* * * Villages in Mainland, Shetland Northmavine {{Shetland-geo-stub