Lamb Holm is a small uninhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in Orkney,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The Italian Chapel, constructed 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 opposi ...

, is the island's main attraction. Lamb Holm is classified by the

National Records of Scotland , type = Non-ministerial government department , logo = National Records of Scotland logo.svg , logo_width = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = National Archives of Scotland , preceding2 = General Regi ...

as an uninhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses."

Geography

Lamb Holm lies in Holm Sound, one of the eastern entrances to Scapa Flow, between

Mainland, Orkney 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 O ...

and the island of

Burray Burray () is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. It lies to the east of Scapa Flow and is one of a chain of islands linked by the Churchill Barriers. Geography and geology Burray lies between Mainland, Orkney and South Ronaldsay, and is ...

, It is in area. The

Churchill Barriers The Churchill Barriers are four causeways in the Orkney islands with a total length of . They link the Orkney Mainland in the north to the island of South Ronaldsay via Burray and the two smaller islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. The ba ...

carry the road from South Ronaldsay to

. Lamb Holm is connected to

Glimps Holm Glimps Holm or Glims Holm ( non, Glums Holm) is a small uninhabited islet in Orkney, Scotland. Geography Glimps Holm lies in Holm Sound, one of the eastern entrances to Scapa Flow, between Mainland, Orkney and the island of Burray. The Churc ...

, to the southwest, by Barrier number 2, and to Mainland by Barrier number 1. The quarry used to build the Churchill Barriers has now been flooded and converted into a fish farm. On the northwest of the island, on the shore of St Mary's Bay, are the remains of a prehistoric settlement which have been designated as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. There is a Bronze age Barrow mound on the island named as "Laughton's Knowe". The name may have evolved from an earlier form "Lachtane" or "Lauchtain" associated with Orkney but prior to the family of this name settling on the island following the impignoration in 1472 resulting in an influx of Scottish Tacksmen loyal to the Stewart King of Scots, it is likely to have had either no name at all or an entirely different reference.

Italian Chapel

Built by Italian prisoners of war during

World War II 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 opposing ...

, the highly ornamented Italian Chapel is now the island's main attraction. The chapel is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. In 1942, more than 1300 Italian prisoners of war were captured in North Africa and taken to Orkney, where they remained until early 1945. Of these, 550 were taken to Camp 60, where they were put to work building the

, four causeways created to block unwanted extra sea accesses to Scapa Flow. In 1943, Major T. P. Buckland, Camp 60's new commandant, and Father Giacombazzi, the Camp's priest agreed that a place of worship was required. Two Nissen huts were joined together to form a makeshift chapel. The prisoners, under the leadership of prisoner Domenico Chiocchetti, did all of the work to transform a simple corrugated iron structure into a work of beauty. The chapel was lined with plasterwork and an altar was made out of concrete. Chiocchetti painted the sanctuary end of the chapel. The beauty that he created led to the prisoners decorating the entire interior and creating a front façade out of concrete that concealed the shape of the hut and made the building look like a church. Since the prisoners' departure, several residents of Camp 60, including Chiocchetti, have made return visits to the chapel they created. In 1996 a declaration was jointly signed by officials in Orkney and Chiocchetti's hometown of

Moena Moena (Ladin: ''Moéna'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. It is the largest comune in the Fassa Valley. In the census of 2001, 1,967 inha ...

, reinforcing the ties between the two places. The building has been preserved and is still used as a chapel.

Gallery

File:Italian Chapel - Lamb Holm - Orkney - kingsley - 29-JUN-09.JPG, Exterior of the

Italian Chapel The Italian Chapel is a highly ornate Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm in the Orkney Islands. It was built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, who were housed on the previously uninhabited island while they constructed the Churchill B ...

File:Lambholm quarry.jpg, The flooded quarry on Lamb Holm, used for the

. In the background is barrier no.2.

Footnotes

{{Authority control Uninhabited islands of Orkney World War II prisoner of war camps in Scotland

Geography

Italian Chapel

Gallery

See also

Footnotes