St Magnus's Church is a ruined medieval church located on the island of

Egilsay Egilsay (, sco, Egilsay) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes and St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to Saint Magnus, who was killed on the i ...

, 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 site is recognized as the place of execution of Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, in the 12th century. The roofless structure dates back to the 12th century, and has been 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 ...

(HES) as second only to

St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built ...

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 ...

, as a surviving Norse church in Scotland.

Description

St Magnus's Church is located near the northwest coast of the island of Egilsay, in Orkney, Scotland. Egilsay belongs to the three island group of Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre. These islands are also known as the Inner

Northern Isles The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...

. The church was built in the Romanesque style, with a rectangular nave, a chancel at the east end and a

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

at the west end. A door leads from the tower to the central nave of the church. The altar was located in the chancel, which opens directly to the nave. The chancel originally had an upper story. Both the nave and the chancel originally had steeply pitched, stone roofs that were taken down by 1847. Windows and doors have rounded arches. The round tower is currently a height of , but it originally would have been around , and four or five stories tall when built. It tapers towards the top. The tower is similar to other round church towers found in northern Germany and countries bordering the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, and Ireland. The site also consists of a graveyard surrounding the church. St_Magnus%27s_Church,_Egilsay_(1994)_-_geograph

The site is maintained by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

as a scheduled ancient monument. Egilsay is accessible by ferry from Tingwall on the Orkney Mainland. At present (January, 2022), the site is listed as "not open to visitors due to high level masonry inspections".

History

The ''Orkneyinga saga'' records that around 1116, Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, travelled to the island to resolve a dispute with his rival, Haakon Paulsson, Earl Haakon. St Magnus spent the night on the island, possibly in a church, and the next day was captured by Haakon and executed. In 1136, William the Old, Bishop William of Orkney, sanctified the murdered Earl, who became Saint Magnus, and it is thought that the present church was constructed shortly afterwards on the supposed site of the murder. There may have been an earlier church at or near the site before the murder of Magnus. The existing structure is the last surviving of the round-towered churches of the Northern Isles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egilsay, Saint Magnus 12th-century church buildings in Scotland Historic Scotland properties in Orkney Scandinavian Scotland Churches in Orkney Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Orkney Romanesque architecture in Scotland