Pierowall is a village of

Westray Westray (, sco, Westree) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, with a usual resident population of just under 600 people. Its main village is Pierowall, with a heritage centre, the 15th-century Lady Kirk church and pedestrian ferry servi ...

in the Orkney Islands, off the coast of the northern Scottish mainland. The village is the island's largest settlement and lies near its northern end, around Pierowall Bay. It has a variety of historical remains dating from 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 p ...

, the

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 mostl ...

, the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and later, including a large pagan Norse cemetery. In 1961 it had a population of 108.

Facilities

Although it is only a village on an island which had a total population of 563 at the census of 2001, Pierowall has a post office, a bank, a junior high school, shops, a hotel, and a fire station.

Communications

Supplementing the ferries which come into Pierowall Harbour, some seven miles to the south of the village is the main ferry terminal at Rapness, on the southernmost tip of Westray, which has better ferry links with Papa Westray and

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

. Pierowall has a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

, with cool summers, mild winters, strong winds, and above average rainfall. Visitors can stay in the centre of the village at the Pierowall Hotel.

Heritage

In a Neolithic chambered cairn near the village, complex carving can be seen on a stone which was probably a lintel. This is thought to originate in the same culture which produced similar carvings at

Newgrange Newgrange ( ga, Sí an Bhrú) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 B ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Pierowall also has an important example of the circular

dry-stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from Rock (geology), stones without any Mortar (masonry), mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable ...

Atlantic roundhouse In archaeology, an Atlantic roundhouse is an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland Scotland, the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Circular houses were the predominant architectural style of the British landsc ...

s which date from the

. Away to the west are the ruins of Noltland Castle, built by Gilbert Balfour in the 16th century, notable for its massive spiral staircase "second only to

Fyvie Castle Fyvie Castle is a castle in the village of Fyvie, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History The earliest parts of Fyvie Castle date from the 13th century – some sources claim it was built in 1211 by William the Lion. Fyvie was the s ...

, while its triple tiers of

gunloop An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s are without parallel in Scotland, if not Europe". Pierowall Lady Kirk - geograph

The Lady Kirk, a ruined church built in 1674 on the foundations of an older 13th-century church, is one of two ruined churches on the island of Westray and is a

scheduled ancient 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 ...

in the care of

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 ...

. Other listed structures include Trenabie Bere Mill and Pierowall Harbour's Gill Pier, which was built in 1870. The Westray Heritage Centre stands at the heart of the village, which also has an art gallery.

Archaeology

Ninth-century Viking graves have been found and excavated among sand dunes near Pierowall, and finds of grave-goods there include weapons, a gold arm-ring, keys, combs, and a

penannular brooch The Celtic brooch, more properly called the penannular brooch, and its closely related type, the pseudo-penannular brooch, are types of brooch clothes fasteners, often rather large; penannular means formed as an incomplete ring. They are especial ...

which combines the styles of Celtic and

Viking art Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th centuries ...

. The local

development plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

notes that Pierowall is the location of "the largest pagan Norse cemetery to be found in Britain" and comments that "Any developments should take into account the likely presence of archaeology."

References

External links

Pierowall Hotel
{{authority control Fishing communities in Scotland Villages in Orkney Viking Age populated places Westray