Skaill House is a historic

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in Sandwick

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

, the largest of the

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 ...

, Scotland. The house overlooks the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

site,

Skara Brae Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Consisting of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams t ...

, and the

Bay of Skaill The Bay of Skaill (from Old Norse ''Bugr Skála'') is a small bay on the west coast of the Orkney Mainland, Scotland. Visitor attractions Bay of Skaill is the location of the famous Neolithic settlement, Skara Brae, and a large residence, Skaill ...

. In 1977, the house was included in the List of Scottish Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

History

Skaill House is situated near to the site of

, and the lands were in use from

times. Various finds from the

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

- and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

s show continuing use. The name ''Skaill'' derives 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 ...

word for "hall". The names of all the surrounding farms are also derived from that language, and it is presumed that the lands have been permanently settled for over a thousand years. After the execution of

Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Zetland (c. 1566 – 6 February 1615) was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert, Earl of Orkney, a bastard son of King James V. Infamous for his godless nature and tyrannical rule over the Scottish arch ...

for treason in 1615, the lands were given to the

Bishop of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. The bi ...

. In 1620, Bishop

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

constructed a simple manor house, the first part of what is now Skaill House. His son became the

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of the estate, and the property was from that time passed down to succeeding lairds. Over the years, the building was expanded. In 1997, after six years of restoration work, Skaill House was opened to the public. It can be rented as a holiday home or for receptions and events.

Description

Skaill House is situated near the west coast of Mainland overlooking the Bay of Skaill and Skara Brae, and close to St Peter's Kirk. It is described by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

as the "most complete 17th century country mansion in Orkney". The oldest parts of the building surrounded three sides of a central courtyard, and were constructed in the early 17th century. The building is predominantly two storeys, with some three storey sections, and is rendered with

harl Harling is a rough-cast wall finish consisting of lime and aggregate, known for its rough texture. Many castles and other buildings in Scotland and Ulster have walls finished with harling. It is also used on contemporary buildings, where it pr ...

. Parts of the gables are crow-stepped. There is a stableyard with a

brewhouse A brewhouse is a building made for brewing beer and ale. This could be a part of a specialized brewery operation, but historically a brewhouse is a private building only meant for domestic production. Larger households, such as noble estates, o ...

and harness room, to the north of the main buildings, and a

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

dating to the 18th century beside the house. The south wing is partially built on an old, pre-

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

burial ground, thought to be

Pictish Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...

References

External links

Skaill House Official Website

Skaill House
at undiscoveredscotland.co.uk
Information and pictures from ''Royal Society on the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Scotland''

The Ghosts of Skaill
video by

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board, is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and other ...

showing Skaill House exterior & interior {{Coordinates, 59, 2, 51.5, N, 3, 20, 11.6, W, display=title Houses in Orkney Buildings and structures completed in 1620 Houses completed in the 17th century Category A listed buildings in Orkney Listed houses in Scotland Mainland, Orkney Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes