Yell ( sco, Yell) is one of the
North Isles
The North Isles are the northern islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The main islands in the group are Yell, Unst and Fetlar. Sometimes the islands in Yell Sound are included in this group.
Importance
They are a significant group, ...
of
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
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. In the
2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the
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 ...
with an area of ,
[Penrith, James & Deborah (2007) ''Orkney & Shetland'' (part of ''The Scottish Islands'' series). ]Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. Crimson Publishing. and is the third most populous in the archipelago (fifteenth out of the islands in Scotland), after the Mainland and Whalsay
Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
Geography
Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland I ...
.[
The island's bedrock is largely composed of Moine ]schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
with a north–south grain, which was uplifted during the Caledonian mountain building period.[ ]Peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
covers two-thirds of the island to an average depth of .
Yell has been inhabited since 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 ...
times, and a dozen 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 ...
sites have been identified from the pre-Norse period. Norse rule lasted from the 9th to 14th centuries until Scottish control was asserted.[ The modern economy of the island is based on ]crofting
Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man.
Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bette ...
, fishing, transport and tourism. The island claims to be the "Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
Capital of Britain" and has a diverse bird life including breeding populations of great
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
and Arctic skua
The parasitic jaeger (''Stercorarius parasiticus''), also known as the Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger or parasitic skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland ...
s. At times, whales and dolphins also appear off the coast.
Notable buildings on the island include the 17th-century Old Haa of Brough in Burravoe
Burravoe is a community on the north shore of Burra Voe, in the south-east part of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
The name Burravoe is derived from the Old Norse ''Borgavágr'', meaning ''broch bay''.
The most notable ...
, a merchant's house now converted to a museum and visitor centre.[ There are various folk tales and modern literary references to island life.
]
Geography
Yell is 19 miles (31 kilometres) in length, with a maximum breadth of 7.5 miles (12 kilometres), and is swept all around by very impetuous tides.[ The island extends northward to within 9.5 miles (15 kilometres) of the northwestern extremity of ]Unst
Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of .
Unst ...
. It is divided by only the narrow Bluemull Sound
Bluemull Sound is the strait between Unst and Yell in Shetland's North Isles. A ferry service crosses it regularly. Cullivoe is on the Yell side, and the island of Linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), somet ...
from the south west of Unst.[Wilson, Rev. John ''The Gazetteer of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone]
On the eastern side the coast is generally low and sandy but there is an extensive rocky and partly precipitous coast on the west that rises slowly to elevations of .[ It is indented by seven or eight bays forming natural harbours. As Penrith's guide to ]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 ...
and Shetland states:
:"The island is roughly rectangular and nearly cut in two where the long voes of Whale Firth and Mid Yell almost meet."[
]
In addition to these large indentations, there are a number of tombolo
A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island become ...
s connecting peninsulas to the island. Many of these are very fragile, and can be damaged extremely easily by human erosion, or severe storms, creating new islands - or resurrecting old ones.
There is comparatively little farmland, but the coast is conducive to fishing.[ Much of the interior of Yell is covered in a peat blanket, often as much as thick,] which is the result of 3,000 years of deposits.[ The peat retains a great deal of water, but is easily eroded, particularly when it comes near to the coast. As Jill Slee Blackadder writes:
:"Some streams carve deep sided gorges. Among these habitats, you can find a wealth of wild flowers and birds nest here in peace."][
The island was anciently divided into the parishes of North Yell, Mid Yell, and South Yell. More recently the parish of North Yell was merged with that of ]Fetlar
Fetlar ( sco, Fetlar) is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar i ...
, and Mid Yell and South Yell were amalgamated.[ In 1991, North Yell was merged with Mid and South Yell to the new civil parish of Yell, leaving Fetlar a parish of its own. The island is still divided into the ]ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...
Mid Yell and the ''quoad sacra'' parishes North Yell and South Yell.
As with the Shetland archipelago as a whole, the island can be seen as creating a barrier between the northern end of the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
(to the east) and the North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
(to the west). To the north east is the Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea ( no, Norskehavet; is, Noregshaf; fo, Norskahavið) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to ...
, and the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
is several hundred km to the north.
Attractions on the island include the Sands of Breckon composed of crushed shells, and the Daal of Lumbister gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
.
Settlements
Settlements on Yell tend to be coastal[ and include ]Burravoe
Burravoe is a community on the north shore of Burra Voe, in the south-east part of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
The name Burravoe is derived from the Old Norse ''Borgavágr'', meaning ''broch bay''.
The most notable ...
, home to the Old Haa Museum, Mid Yell, Cullivoe
Cullivoe (Old Norse: ''Kollavágr'' - Bay of Kolli), is a village on Yell in the Shetland Islands. It is in the north east of the island, near Bluemull Sound, not far from Unst.
Cullivoe is a fishing port, and was formerly the ferry terminal ...
and Gloup
''Note: ''Gloup'' is common in Scottish placenames referring to a sea jet.''
Gloup is a village in the far north of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands. It lends its name to nearby island of Gloup Holm.
Gloup Holm derives its name from ...
, as well as Ulsta, Gutcher
Gutcher is a settlement on the northeast coast of Yell in the Shetland islands. From here, rollon/roll off ferry services to Belmont on Unst and Hamars Ness on Fetlar operate. The settlement has a harbour, and a former post office which, in 20 ...
, Aywick, West Yell, Sellafirth, Copister, Camb, Otterswick, and West Sandwick.
There is little in the way of modern settlements on the west coast other than West Sandwick, mainly because of the prevailing wind and the high cliffs that border much of it. There are a few crofts along Whale Firth, including Windhouse (see notable buildings), and at Grimister there are the ruins of an old herring curing station, which closed just after World War II.[
]
Surrounding islands
The following islands surround Yell: Aastack, Bigga, Black Skerry, Brother Isle, Brough, Burravoe Chest, Fish Holm, Gloup Holm
Gloup Holm is an islet in the Shetland Islands, lying to the north of Yell.
Geography and geology
Gloup Holm is near to the part of Yell called North Neaps, near Gloup. It has an area of 30.4 acres or 12.3 hectares.
Rocks to the north includ ...
, Gold Skerry, Green Holm, Grey Stack, Holm of West Sandwick, Horns of the Roe, Kay Holm, Linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
, Muckle Holm, Neapback Skerries, Orfasay
Orfasay (Old Norse: ''Orfyrisey'', meaning "tidal island") is one of the Shetland Islands.
Geography
Orfasay is a tidal island in Yell Sound, connected to Yell at low tide. This is reflected in the island's name.
It is near the mouth of Hamna ...
, Outsta Ness, Rug, Skerry Wick, Stacks of Stuis, Sweinna Stack, The Clapper, The Quidin, Whalegeo Stacks, Whilkie Stack, and Ern Stack.
Geology and soils
Yell lies to the east of the Walls
Walls may refer to:
*The plural of wall, a structure
* Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
Places
* Walls, Louisiana, United States
*Walls, Mississippi, United States
* Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
boundary fault, which is probably a northern extension of the Great Glen fault. There are three main faults that dictate the geography of Yell - the first is the Bluemull Fault, which separates Yell from Unst
Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of .
Unst ...
by creating the Bluemull Sound
Bluemull Sound is the strait between Unst and Yell in Shetland's North Isles. A ferry service crosses it regularly. Cullivoe is on the Yell side, and the island of Linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), somet ...
; the second is the Arisdale Fault which forms the northern part of Whale Firth, and extends south to Arisdale, and out of Hamnavoe; and the third is the Nesting Fault, which more or less creates Yell Sound
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell (island), Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oi ...
, and divides Yell from Mainland Shetland. A fourth fault helps create Gloup Voe, and there are some other minor ones. These faults may be seen as radiating branches of the Walls Fault, and were exacerbated by glacial activity.[
The island's bedrock is largely composed of Moine ]schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
[Blackadder, Jill Slee ''Shetland (Colin Baxter Island Guides)'' (2003) Colin Baxter Photography, Strathspey ] with a north–south grain, a metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
rock originally laid down in shallow water 1,000-800 million years ago and then uplifted and deformed during the Caledonian orogeny
The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occ ...
600-400 million years ago. The principal minerals are coarse quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
, quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
-feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
[ and ]mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
schist.
In common with the rest of Scotland, Yell was covered in thick ice sheets during the Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
ice ages. Some of the island's gorges, such as the Daal of Lumbister, may have originally been created by ancient meltwater
Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater can be ...
streams escaping from underneath retreating glaciers, and it is also thought some of Yell's lochs were originally dammed by moraines.[
After the ice melted the island would have experienced a large '']tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
'' some 8,000 years BP associated with the Storegga Slides. The inundation would have reached above normal high tides. There is also some evidence at Basta Voe in the north west of a more recent event of a similar nature. In modern times, the non-porous nature of the bedrock, the presence of boulder clay and the cool and damp climate have conspired to create large expanses of peat. This covers two-thirds of the island with an average depth of . Its main constituent materials are sphagnum moss
''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store w ...
, cotton grass
''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bo ...
, deer grass, heather and sedge
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...
. This peat is highly important to the islanders as a fuel source, and in some areas is even worked commercially. It is cut with a tushker (a type of peat spade, akin to the Highland '' cascrom''), and according to Blackadder (2003) "Yell boasts some of the best peat stacking skills in Shetland."[
There is also some dune habitat near West Sandwick, something pretty rare in the Shetland Islands; controversially, there has been some commercial extraction of the sand from this area, which may have had a significant environmental impact.][
]
History
Origin of name
There are various possible derivations of the island's name. The name ''Yell'', recorded in the 1300s as ''Iala'', may be of Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
origin, deriving from ''*iala'', meaning "unfruitful land" (c.f. Iâl
Ial or Yale ( cy, Iâl) was a commote of medieval Wales within the cantref of Maelor in the Kingdom of Powys. When the Kingdom was divided in 1160, Maelor became part of the Princely realm of Powys Fadog (Lower Powys or Madog's Powys), and belon ...
, Wales). The Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a ...
was ''Jala'' or ''Jela'' which may have meant 'white island' referring to the beaches. 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 ...
was ''Gjall'' signifying 'barren'.[ Neighbouring ]Unst
Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of .
Unst ...
may also have a pre-Norse name. The name was also recorded in 1586 as "Yella".[
In early modern times, it was written as "Zell"][ (cf "Zetland"), a mistranscription of "Ȝell", from an initial ]yogh
The letter yogh (ȝogh) ( ; Scots Language, Scots: ; Middle English: ) was used in Middle English and Older Scots, representing ''y'' () and various velar consonant , velar phonemes. It was derived from the Insular G, Insular form of the letter ...
. Shetland originates from "Hjaltland", and the "Ȝ" was used to symbolize the initial sound in the old pronunciation.
This makes another possible explanation plausible, connected to the Norse words "hjalli" or "hjallr", terrace in a mountainside or a ledge, scaffolding, even the ones used for drying fish. "Hjell" is the current spelling and pronunciation in Norwegian, and "hjallar" is the possessive singular or nominative plural form in Old Norse.
Early history
Yell has been inhabited since the Neolithic times.[ A ]petrosomatoglyph
A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some a ...
or stone footprint at North Yell, up Hena, is known locally as the 'Wartie' and was used to wash in dew or rain-water and standing in it was supposed to get rid of warts. In legend it was made by a giant placing one foot here and the other on the Westing of Unst.
Twelve 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 ...
sites are known of and fifteen early chapels.[Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) '']Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland
''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland'' is a reference work published by HarperCollins, edited by the husband and wife team, John and Julia Keay.
History
Scots had provided the impetus for a number of well-known references works, ''Chambers Dic ...
''. London. HarperCollins. Page 991. The evidence suggests a substantial population in the Pre-Norse period. One of the brochs is Burra Ness Broch. Only part of the wall remains, on the seaward side. This reaches around high in places. There are traces of earthen ramparts on the landward side, and remains of a structure which may have been a guard's cell. There are also remains of an 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 ...
blockhouse fort at Burgi Geos.[ ]Burravoe
Burravoe is a community on the north shore of Burra Voe, in the south-east part of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
The name Burravoe is derived from the Old Norse ''Borgavágr'', meaning ''broch bay''.
The most notable ...
's name derives partly from a nearby broch - the element "Burra" frequently being a corruption of the Norse for one.[
Yell's placenames reveal the presence of the ]Celtic Church
Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...
, whose hermits were known to the Norse as ''papar
The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen of S ...
''.[ Examples of names related to them include Papil Ness, Loch of Papil and Papil Bay. However, it is unclear whether these names are all pre-Norse, or whether these Christian co-existed with the pagan Norsemen after they invaded. There is evidence of an early ]Culdee
The Culdees ( ga, Céilí Dé, "Spouses of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, attac ...
monastery at the Birrier in the west of Yell, near West Sandwick.[ The Birrier was almost certainly in contact with another monastic settlement directly opposite, across ]Yell Sound
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell (island), Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oi ...
, at the Kame of Isbister on the 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 ...
Peninsula of Mainland.[ A service was held in 2000, at the Birrier to commemorate two millennia of ]Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.[
A cross slab from North Yell may also be from this period, but it has since been lost. It is presumed to be like the ]Bressay
Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland.
Geography and geology
Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in Shet ...
Stone.[
]
Norse era
Yell Sound
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell (island), Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oi ...
is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga'': "Earl Rögnvald... and the chiefs Sölmond and Jón with him... had a fine body of troops, though not too numerous, and five or six ships. They arrived at Hjaltland hetland
Hetland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. The municipality included the Stavanger Peninsula and the land surrounding both sides of the Gandsfjorden, but n ...
about the middle of summer, but heard nothing of Frákork. Strong and contrary winds sprung up, and they brought their ships to Alasund (Yell Sound), and went a-feasting over the country."[
In the later Norse period ]Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
flourished and foundations of 20 chapels dating from this period have been identified.
The primary Viking legacy is an abundance of placenames of 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 ...
origin. For example, "Dalsetter" is a combination of ''dalr'' meaning a "dale" or "valley" and ''setr'' meaning a "hill pasture" or shieling. "Gossawater" is a combination of ''gás'' (goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
), ''á'' (river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
) and ''vatn'' (a lake/loch) anglicised as "water". Other common Norse elements on Yell include "firth
Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...
" (''fjörðr'') as in Whale Firth, " voe" (''vagr'') as in "Gloup Voe", "sound" (''sund'') as in "Bluemull Sound" and "-a(y)" (''ey'') as in nearby Hascosay
Hascosay ( sco, Hascosay; Old Norse "Hafskotsey") is a small island lying between Yell and Fetlar in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Geography and geology
The island's rock is coarse micaceous gneiss.
The island has several pools, but the fre ...
and Linga.
Hanseatic trade and early modern period
Although most of Shetland's Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=German language, Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Norther ...
trade was conducted from Scalloway
Scalloway ( non, Skálavágr, "bay with the large house(s)") is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. N ...
, Burravoe
Burravoe is a community on the north shore of Burra Voe, in the south-east part of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
The name Burravoe is derived from the Old Norse ''Borgavágr'', meaning ''broch bay''.
The most notable ...
was one of the most important of the other Hanseatic centres in the archipelago.[
In the 17th century, the Dutch East Indian Ship, ''Lastdrager'' was wrecked on Yell, and the survivor, Jan Camphuis wrote favorably of his experiences on the island. He noted the generosity and kindness of the islanders to him while he was there, which he believed was disproportionate to their poverty.][ Yell is mentioned by ]Martin Martin
Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (-9 October 1718) was a Scottish writer best known for his work '' A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland'' (1703; second edition 1716). This book is particularly noted for ...
in his 1695 '' A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland'' where he noted that "there are three churches, and several small chapels in it."
The Rev. Crutwell in the 18th century said of Yell that "the inhabitants have plenty of fuel, catch immense quantities of small fish, and live comfortably."[Rev Crutwell quoted in Haswell-Smith op-cit]
Modern history
Johnnie Notions
John Williamson (), more commonly known by the nickname Johnnie Notions (, ) was a self-taught physician from Shetland, Scotland, who independently developed and administered an inoculation for smallpox to thousands of patients in Shetland du ...
successfully carried out early smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
inoculations on Yell in the 18th century, at a time when many other places remained sceptical.
In the 1841 New Statistical Account
The ''Statistical Accounts of Scotland'' are a series of documentary publications, related in subject matter though published at different times, covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
The ''Old (or First) Statistical Ac ...
the minister of Fetlar
Fetlar ( sco, Fetlar) is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar i ...
and North Yell noted that although smuggling had almost entirely disappeared the local population had "fallen into an abominable habit of smoking tobacco". In the same year the minister of Mid and South Yell observed a rise of 50% in the local price of black cattle due to the introduction of a fortnightly steamer service from Lerwick
Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010.
Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...
to Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
that had enabled exports of livestock to mainland Scotland. Fishing on Yell received a particularly vicious blow when 53 fishermen were killed in a storm off Gloup in 1881. There is a memorial to them there now.[
Germans have claimed that during the First World War their ]U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s used to shelter in Whale Firth – this is possible because of the very low population of the area.[
During the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
bombed the post office at Gutcher
Gutcher is a settlement on the northeast coast of Yell in the Shetland islands. From here, rollon/roll off ferry services to Belmont on Unst and Hamars Ness on Fetlar operate. The settlement has a harbour, and a former post office which, in 20 ...
in an attempt to disrupt the communications system.[ On 19 January 1942 a ]Catalina
Catalina may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show
* ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham
* Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl''
...
airplane crashed on the hill above Burravoe
Burravoe is a community on the north shore of Burra Voe, in the south-east part of the island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
The name Burravoe is derived from the Old Norse ''Borgavágr'', meaning ''broch bay''.
The most notable ...
. Seven of her ten passengers were killed and one of the propellers can be seen outside the Old Haa Museum.[
Just after the Second World War the old herring curing station at Grimister closed; this was to be one in a long line of economic difficulties including the loss of fishing.][
Between 1953 and 1964 Dr Robert Hope-Simpson, a GP, carried out painstaking research establishing that ]shingles
Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...
is the reactivation of previously acquired chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab ...
(varicella) virus.
In 1961 a Soviet spy ship sank off Yell; the wreck was found by Lieutenant George Wookey, who had also investigated the wreck that inspired '' Whisky Galore'' in the Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
. It was an undercover plain clothes mission; Lt. Wookey found the wreck down in clear water.
During the 1960s Yell reached an impasse. It was in 1965 that the Orcadian novelist Eric Linklater
Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...
said that Yell was "the problem child of the archipelago"Eric Linklater
Eric Robert Russell Linklater CBE (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a Welsh-born Scottish poet, fiction writer, military historian, and travel writer. For ''The Wind on the Moon'', a children's fantasy novel, he won the 1944 Carnegie Meda ...
quoted in Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland
''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland'' is a reference work published by HarperCollins, edited by the husband and wife team, John and Julia Keay.
History
Scots had provided the impetus for a number of well-known references works, ''Chambers Dic ...
''. London. HarperCollins. due to its economic woes and burgeoning depopulation. Some blamed this on the islanders' "social egalitarianism", which supposedly prevented anyone from becoming a "leader or entrepreneur"; Haswell-Smith disagrees but believes that "airing the matter seems to have helped"[ It is certainly notable that the tiny remote ]Out Skerries
The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries.
Geography
The Out Skerries lie about northeast of ...
seem to be wealthier[ and that ]Whalsay
Whalsay ( sco, Whalsa; non, Hvalsey or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
Geography
Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland I ...
is better at retaining its population. Yell is neither near Lerwick
Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010.
Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...
like Bressay
Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland.
Geography and geology
Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in Shet ...
nor bridged to the mainland like Burra or Muckle Roe
Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in St. Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland. It has a population of around 130 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 440
'Muckle' is Scots for 'bi ...
. Some Yell people do commute to work at Sullom Voe
Sullom Voe is an inlet of the North Sea between the parishes of Delting and Northmavine in Shetland, Scotland. It is a location of the Sullom Voe oil terminal and Shetland Gas Plant. The word Voe is from the Old Norse ' and denotes a small ba ...
, but as this appears to be a declining industry this does not hold out hope for the future. Unlike neighbouring Fetlar
Fetlar ( sco, Fetlar) is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar i ...
, Yell never suffered large scale clearances, only some local ones, and has long had multiple ownership.[ Jim Crumley, himself an incomer, has noted the difficulties faced by Yell by both depopulation and repopulation.][
]
Flora and fauna
The coastline of Yell includes numerou
voes
(narrow inlets) where otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
s and various seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s are common. Brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
can be found in the inland waters.[
]
Mammals
Yell claims to be the "Otter Capital of Britain". The shore is low-lying and the peaty soil is soft, making it ideal for excavation burrows. The long days in summer also make spotting these largely nocturnal creatures in daylight more likely than on the British mainland. Hugh Miles' documentary ''The Track of the Wild Otter'' was shot on location at Burra Ness at the mouth of Busta Voe
Busta Voe, (HU665350), in the north central Mainland, Shetland, is a sea inlet lying between the village of Brae and the island of Muckle Roe. At the head of the voe is the Delting Marina and Boating Club.
During the First World War Busta Voe wa ...
; it gained awards and was produced for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
s are also regular visitors to Yell's coast.