St Magnus Church is a ruined medieval

round-tower church Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berks ...

located on the island of

Egilsay Egilsay (, ) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The anglicized name of Eagleshay was used in past centuries. The island is largely farmland and is known for St Magnus Church, Egilsay, St Magnus Church, dedicated or r ...

, in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. 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) () 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 merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

(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. Originally Roman Catholic, it is the oldest cathedral in Scotland and the most northerly cathedral in the ...

Kirkwall Kirkwall (, , or ; ) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. First mentioned in the ''Orkneyinga saga'', it is today the location of the headquarters of the Orkney Islands Council and a transport hub wi ...

, as a surviving Norse church in Scotland.

Description

St Magnus's Church is located near the northwest coast 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 (; ; ) are a chain (or archipelago) of Island, islands of Scotland, located off the north coast of the Scottish mainland. The climate is cool and temperate and highly influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main is ...

. 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 defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

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, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, and Ireland. The site also consists of a graveyard surrounding the church. The site is maintained by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, 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 und ...

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, visu ...

. Egilsay is accessible by ferry from Tingwall on the

Orkney Mainland The Mainland, also known as 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 Orkney's popu ...

. At present (January, 2022), the site is listed as "not open to visitors due to high level masonry inspections".

History

The ''

Orkneyinga saga The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly No ...

'' records that around 1116,

Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney, sometimes known as Magnus the Martyr, was Earl of Orkney from 1106 to about 1117. Magnus's grandparents, Thorfinn the Mighty, Jarl of Orkney and his wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, had two sons, Erlend an ...

, travelled to the island to resolve a dispute with his rival, Earl Haakon. Magnus spent the night on the island, possibly in a church, and the next day was captured by Haakon and executed. In 1136, 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

References

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