KIRKWALL - CAPITAL OF ORKNEY IRKJUVAGR HE K BAY · Kirkwall MarinaRecently the Kirkwall Marina was completed by the addition of an extra breakwater to shel-ter it from northerly gales

Ola must have attracted thefirst Neolithic settlers also,but so far no evidence oftheir presence has beenfound, probably becausethey picked the best sites,which have since been builton multiple times.

Iron Age Although there islittle to see today, there wereat several brochs in the area.The large mound, uponwhich Spence’s Paper Shopnow sits, at the south end ofBroad Street, is almost cer-tainly the site of one ofKirkwall’s brochs, whileanother other is said to havebeen situated at the mouth ofthe Pabdale Burn. Therewas a roundhouse at Grain,of which only the cellar, orEarth House remains, aswell as a large broch and set-tlement at Lingro, andsmaller brochs or round-houses at Berstane, Toftsand Saverock.

Celtic priests (Papae) had asettlement between thePabdale Burn and the sea,and it is likely that the firstNorse church was built on

the site of an earlier one.The original Norse churchwould have been wooden,and the remains of St Olaf'sKirk visible today, an attrac-tive archway in St Olaf'sWynd off Bridge Street as

well as hog-backed grave-slab in the Orkney Museumand an aumbrie (a stone cup-board) in the vestry of thepresent St Olaf’s Church onDundas Crescent, date froma later rebuilding.

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Coat of arms from the Bridge

Sketch map of Kirkwall from 1766

The Earl’s Palace and St Magnus from Brandyquoy in 1821

“KIRKJUVAGR” - “THE KIRK ON THE BAY”

“Kirkwall Roads” in 1821 by William Daniell

KIRKWALL (ON Kirkjuvagr,Kirk Bay) is first mentionedin the Orkneyinga Sagawhen Earl RognvaldBrusison built a church hereand dedicated to his fosterfather, King Olaf of Norway,who was killed at a battle atStiklastad in 1030.Rognvald returned toOrkney about 1035, afterbeing in Sweden andHolmgard (Novgorod) inRussia, to share the Earldomwith Earl Thorfinn the

Mighty for about eightyears. The Orkneyinga Sagastates that Thorfinn’s basewas in Birsay, and Rognvaldwas the first Earl named asliving at Kirkwall and thusmay have been the builder ofthe first large drinking hallhere as well. He was killedon Papa Stronsay by EarlThorfinn, with the help ofThorkell Fostri, in about1046, while collecting maltto make ale for Yule.

Kirkwall was the naturalplace for a settlement toform, being central in theislands, and having theOyce, or Peerie Sea, whichsheltered by the Ayre butwas accessible by boats untilthe 19th century, making it aperfectly safe harbour. It isalso only 2km from ScapaBay, the head of the Norsereferred to as Knarrarstadir,now called Knarstone, alanding place for merchantships. The fertile land of St

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Kirkwall Harbour Basin on a summer evening, the Girnel is on the right

KIRKWALL - CAPITAL OF ORKNEY

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The Street With the build-ing of the Cathedral andBishop’s Palace in the 12th

century, the transfer of theBishopric from Birsay underBishop William in 1136, andconstruction of the Earl'sCastle, Kirkwall rapidlygrew, until by the time of thegrant of the Scottish RoyalCharter in 1486, there weretwo clear parts: theLaverock, or Episcopal part,and the Earl’s or King's part.The division is thought to beabout the position of the

present St Magnus Lane onBroad Street. The saying isthat the Ba’ Games held atChristmas and New Yearoriginate in rivalry betweenthe youths of the Burgh andthe Laverock.

The original form of thetown, the narrow windingstreet, with many lanes, andhouses often gable-on to thestreet, has not changed muchover the centuries.Originally the settlementfollowed the shore of the

Peerie Sea and this shape isstill retained by BridgeStreet and Albert Streettoday. In In RognvaldBrusison’s time the townconsisted of two rows ofhouses along what are nowShore Street and BridgeStreet, and the Castle or Hallwas to the South, on theedge of the Peerie Sea in thearea formerly occupied byRobert Garden’s business.

A devastating fire destroyedall the old buildings here in

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Aerial view of Kirkwall from the south

St Olaf’s archwayBridge Street looking north from The Bridge



per month, and since theKing and Court often movedabout it had to as well. Allthat remains today is aninteresting old sandstonedoorway and carved lintel.The Common Land of theTing has long since beenappropriated, and underScots, but not Udal Law, isno longer Common Land.

Many houses date from the16th to 18th centuries andthere are interesting puttstones (at the bottom ofcrow-stepped gables), lintelsand carved stones visiblealong the street. The townfaced onto the Peerie Sea,and the street owes its shapeto the shoreline. In 1829 the

first bridge was builtbetween the Ayre and theGrainshore. This was a lift-ing bridge to allow the pas-sage of boats , but by 1858 astone-built bridge hadblocked it off.

In 1859, the Harbour Actwas passed, and in 1865 theold town's appearance wastransformed by the buildingof Junction Road. Changesand developments have con-tinued piecemeal to this day,with rapid expansion of thetown between, and after, thetwo World Wars. The PeerieSea has largely gone andmuch has changed, but evenso, there is still much toremind us of the past.

Harbour Harbour Streetand Shore Street were oncecalled the Ramparts, nodoubt partly defencesagainst the sea, and partlycannon-armed precautionsagainst "the CommonEnemy". By the late 1400s,houses had started to appear,and the first was on the siteof the present St Ola Hotel.Not long afterwards TheGirnel, now Orkney SailingClub, was built to hold theoats, bere, malt and meal,which were paid in lieu ofcash for rental and skat, dueto the Earldom Estate. Thenearby Corn Slip was usedto land the goods. Beforethe first pier was built, shipswould have moored off,goods being transferred insmall dories, or "flit" boats.

Unfortunately recent har-bour improvements havetotally covered the attractivesandstone slipway and har-bour front with concrete andsteel. The road is wider, butsome of the appeal of theBasin has gone. ShoreStreet was also much moreattractive in the past, with

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Shore Street before demolition for replacement with BP oil tanks

1938, including the oldestpart, a house called TheGallery, which consisted oftwo wings, gable-on toBridge Street joined by ablock parallel to the streetwith, so as to form a court-yard which was separatedfrom the street by a wallwith a balcony.

Although the first record ofthis house is from 1433,when it was owned by JohnLaw, it seems that this is thesite of Earl RognvaldBrusison’s skali, or drinkinghall, and later of EarlRognvald Kolson’s muchmore prestigious house.Later still it was the townhouse of the Traills and it

was David Traill who builtthe “Groatie Hoose” in thegarden, incorporating someof the ballast from PirateGow’s ship. It was the firstKirkwall Hotel, before beingbought by Robert Garden,an itinerant salesman whobecame a very successfulmerchant. The “GroatieHoose” has now been movedto Tankerness House gardens.

The Ting and ParliamentClose The lane on the westside of Stevenson s papershop at the Bridge is of his-toric interest. A group ofthree houses, of which theruin of one remains, formedthree sides of a square calledParliament Square. The site

is now occupied by theHydro Electric shop andoffices, previously theCommercial Bank. In Norsetimes this was the site of themain Orkney Ting orParliament. After the centreof the Earldom had movedin from Birsay, Kirkwallwas the obvious place tohold this assembly, next toSt Olaf’s Church. This cen-tral location beside thePabdale Burn was probablya meeting place long beforethe Vikings.

During the visit of James Vin 1540, the ScottishParliament met atParliament Close. In thesedays parliament met once

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Kirkwall Harbour Basin in 1924

The “Groatie Hoose”, now relocated to Tankerness House Gardens Doorway in Parliament Square

Kirkwall from below The mount or Cromwell’s Fort with the marina and pier on the right


Kirkwall Marina Recentlythe Kirkwall Marina wascompleted by the addition ofan extra breakwater to shel-ter it from northerly gales.Already this facility hastransformed pleasure boat-ing and is a great boon forthe rapidly increasing num-ber of local and visitingyachtsmen (and women).

Kirkwall Lifeboat TheRNLI lifeboat station wasestablished in 1972 afterextensive trials with the 70ftGrace Paterson Ritchie,which was then based hereuntil 1988 when she wasreplaced by the Arun classMickie Salveson. The sta-tion has been served by theSevern class MargaretFoster since 1998. She isberthed in the Basin and hasa range of 250 miles with amaximum speed of 25 knots.

St Magnus Cathedral dom-inates the town, and is aprominent landmark, whichcan be seen from manydirections. It was originallybuilt just above the shore ofthe Peerie Sea, and as it tookshape it must have been amarvel to everyone. The

Cathedral was founded byEarl Rognvald Kolson in1137 and is described over-leaf. Despite the develop-

ment of the town theCathedral continues to be itsdominant feature, being vis-ible from north and south.

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Current Kirkwall Lifeboat “Margaret Foster” at her West Pier berth

St Magnus Cathedral is a prominent landmark

Bridge Street

rows of houses gable-on tothe sea. Sadly they weredemolished and replaced byoil tanks when plannerswere less enlightened aboutpreserving the past.

On the site of the KirkwallHotel, which was built in1890, there stood a buildingcalled "Traill's Folly", onaccount of its size and style,and opposite this was theoriginal small pier. In 1809

the new pier was begun,opening in 1811. The WestPier was built in 1813, andthe face of the "Rampart"was built in the same year.The builders felt a directinjustice on the part of theGovernment, as no publicassistance was forthcoming.Perhaps the Government andEU aid given in support ofthe current pier expansiongoes some way to alleviatethis, albeit 180 years later!

Shipping services The firstregular summer steamshipservice to the South wasstarted in 1833. This causedan immediate boost to thedevelopment of the localeconomy, but it was 1850before a winter service wasincluded. Finally in 1865,the North Isles received theirfirst regular steamer service,run by the first Orcadia.This ship ran until 1931,having been joined by thefirst Earl Thorfinn in 1928,with the Earl Sigurd follow-ing in 1931.

These steamships ran forover 30 years until they werereplaced by the Orcadia in1962 and later the cargo boatIslander. Ro-ro servicesbegan in 1991 to the outerNorth Isles and today thevessels Varagen, EarlThorfinn and Earl Sigurdcontinue these services fromKirkwall. The Shapinsayruns the service to thatisland.

There are always fishingboats and cargo ships com-ing and going at Kirkwallharbour, which has recentlyundergone considerableexpansion. With the open-ing of the new pier west ofthe town near Crowness toserve the ferries to Aberdeenand Lerwick, Kirkwall Piernow handles much less traf-fic. Nowadays many cruiseships call at Kirkwall insummer, ranging from smallvessels to the largest in theworld. Many can now dockat the new pier.

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“Orcadia III” was to serve the North Isles for nearly 30 years

“Earl Sigurd” served the North Isles for over 30 years, here at Eday Pier

Kirkwall Lifeboat “Grace Paterson Ritchie” at the entrance to the Basin


Bishop's Palace or "Placeo' the Yards". William theOld (1102-1168), Bishop atthe time of the building andconsecration of St MagnusCathedral, was most likelythe first to have a permanentresidence at Kirkwall.Previously the Bishopstayed either at Birsay, or onEgilsay. After his disastrousexpedition of 1263, whichended in the Battle of Largs,King Hakon stayed at theBishop's Palace, and diedthere that winter. By 1320 itwas ruinous but it was sub-sequently repaired andextended by Bishop Reidduring 1541-1558, when the"Moosie Too'r" was built.

The gate set into the Eastwall was once across theentrance to the Watergate,and there was a square toweron its eastern side, whichwas called the "MassieMore". This tower may wellhave contained the Bishop'sliving quarters. There is agood view of the town fromthe top of the "MoosieToo'r". The small statue setinto the tower was for long

thought to be of BishopWilliam, but recent studiessuggest that it more likelyrepresents Earl RognvaldKolson, founder of theCathedral. The original isnow in the Orkney Museum.

Tankerness House onBroad Street originallyhoused two church officialsin separate manses. Afterthe Reformation the mansesbecame the private home ofGilbert Foulzie, Kirkwall's

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The “Moosie Too’er” and buttressed west wall of the Bishop’s Palace

Plan of the Bishop’s Palace Tankerness House gardens

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Tankerness House is now home to Orkney Museum

Kirkwall Castle does notexist now, except for aplaque on the TrusteeSavings Bank in CastleStreet, but the history is ofconsiderable interest. Thefirst drinking hall was prob-ably built by Earl RognvaldI about 1040, most likelynear the site of Old St Olaf's

Church, and was no doubtexpanded over the years bysucceeding Norse Earls, per-haps with defence as well asdrinking in mind. About 1380, Earl Henry StClair, built a new Castle,without Royal Assent, on theshore of the Peerie Sea, tothe northwest of the

Cathedral. Of his successor,Henry II, it is said that his"little Court of Orkney wasthe most refined and elegantin the whole of Europe" andthat "Half a century beforeColumbus commenced hissearch for a patron theVenetian navigator Zeno hadbeen commissioned by EarlHenry to help him retracethe footsteps of the earlyScandinavian discoverers ofthe Western World."

The Castle only had onesiege, in 1614, in the time ofthe Earl Patrick Stewart whohad been tried by theScottish Privy Council, andimprisoned in DumbartonCastle in 1610 for his mis-deeds against the people ofOrkney. His son Robert,proceeded to Orkney on thepretext of gathering rents,took over Birsay Palace, andcollected men. They soonhad the Castle, Girnel, Earl'sPalace and Cathedral in theirhands.

It is said that the Castle waswell stocked with munitions,so when the Earl ofCaithness arrived in August1614, with 60 soldiers andtwo large cannon, it tooksome time to capture thecastle and Stewart. The cas-tle was demolished in 1615,and but for the interventionof Bishop Law, theCathedral might well havegone as well. RobertStewart was hanged on 6January 1615, and his fatherbeheaded one month later.

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Palace Road with the “Moosie Too’er” and refurbished old houses

The interior of the Bishop’s Palace with the “Moosie Too’er” and St Magnus


Earl's Palace or "Newark inthe Yards". This rather finehouse was built by EarlPatrick Stewart using forcedlabour, after he had obtaineda grant of the Bishopric in1600, but was only occupiedbriefly by its tyrannical firstowner. The astonishinggrace and elegance of itsarchitecture contrastsstrongly with the evil of theStewarts. The Palace wasfinished about 1607, andwas almost immediatelytaken over by Stewart's arch-enemy, Bishop Law.

In 1615 the palace gained anew tenant, Bishop Graham,then with the disestablish-ment in 1638 of theBishopric, he passed the ten-ancy to Robert Tulloch ofLangskaill, but it was "notweill used by him". In 1647the Earl of Morton leasedthe Earl's Palace for 19years, and was succeeded astenant by his son, Robert,who invited the Marquis ofMontrose to stay. The latterspent a month there in 1650in preparation for thedoomed attempt to replacethe Stuarts on the throne,before being defeated at theBattle of Carbisdale nearBonar Bridge.

In 1671 Bishop AndrewHoneyman took over thePalace and records suggestthat it was still in use in1691, it was uninhabitableby 1705. Thus this beauti-ful, yet tragic, house wentfrom foundation to ruin in acentury. Sometime about

1750, the slates and timberswere stripped from its roofand used elsewhere. By1849 the Board of Wood andForests was suggesting thatthe Palace should be madeinto the Court House andcounty jail, rather than allowit to fall down.

At present the Earl’s Palaceis owned by HistoricScotland, but is only open insummer. The Great Hall andapartments are particularlyimpressive, and who knows,in future some benefactormay yet pay for its refur-bishment. The grounds arevery pleasant, with perhapsthe best views being from

the Kirkwall Bowling Greenbehind the Palace.

The ground floor consists ofa massive kitchen and largestore-rooms and has a wellwhich is probably mucholder than the rest of thebuilding. An impressivestairway gives access to thefirst floor with its largeGreat Hall and apartments.The Great Hall was said tohave rivalled that of any cas-tle in Scotland in its timewith its large vaulted win-dows and huge fireplace.The corbelled windows musthave been particularlyimpressive when they wereintact.

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Earl’s Palace Great Hall from the east showing corbelled windows

Plan of the Earl’s Palace

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first Protestant minister, whojoined the buildings with thepresent arched gateway in1574. From 1642 it was thetown house of the Baikies ofTankerness, who owned ituntil after World War II. TheBaikies were among themost successful of Orkney'smerchant lairds, whose townhouses lined the streets ofKirkwall. The book byHossack, "Kirkwall in theOrkneys", now reprinted, isa fascinating source of infor-mation on the buildings ofKirkwall and about the peo-ple who lived and worked inthem. Tankerness House,now Orkney's main muse-um, with its sheltered gar-dens is regarded as one ofthe finest surviving townhouses of its period inScotland.

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The great hall of the Earl’s Palace from the Bowling Green

The Earl’s Palace was built about 1600 but was uninhabitable by 1705

3-star hotel in Kirkwall’s town centreWe have something to suit everyone

VISIT ORKNEY’S FAVOURITE:

Albert Hotel

Albert Hotel Ltd,Mounthoolie Lane,

KirkwallOrkney KW15 1JZ

Tel (01856) 876000Fax (01856) 875397

[email protected]

Enjoy finest Orkney fayre in our 3 eateries:Stables a la carte Restaurant -specialising in Orkney seafood

Bothy Bar -sample Orkney ales and whiskies in a traditional and

cosy environment

Family Friendly Lounge Bar

Food served all day (June-August)Enjoy Orcadian hospitality at its very best!


Orkney Museum OrkneyMuseum on Broad Street pro-vides a vivid introduction toOrkney's prehistory throughdisplays of artefacts rangingfrom the Neolithic first set-tlers to the Viking period,among them a rare whalebone plaque from a Vikingboat grave excavated at Scarin Sanday. There are manyother exhibits from recentexcavations, which in previ-ous times would have beenstored in Edinburgh.Hopefully this trend will con-tinue so that more artefactsmay be seen in their propercontext. New displays arebeing developed on morerecent history, and the muse-um holds regular exhibitions.Two rooms are furnished inperiod.

Wireless Museum TheOrkney Wireless Museum atthe Kiln Corner near theHarbour soon was originallycreated by James MacDonaldand based based in StMargaret’s Hope. He workedon Naval and RAF electron-ics during the war and there-after set about acquiringexamples of the technologyof the era. The museum hason display a very interesting

of communication equipmentand memorabilia. In particu-lar there is much relating toScapa Flow in World War II,especially to do with radarand air defence.

Library & ArchivesKirkwall has one of the oldestlibraries in Scotland. Nowcalled the Orkney Library,

and in new premises onJunction Road, it was found-ed in 1683 by William Baikieas the "Bibliotheck ofKirkwall". Apart from anexcellent selection of booksfor lending, it also has a verygood Orkney reference room,as well as a vast archives sec-tion. Tel (01856) 873166

Visitors can have temporarymembership and Internetaccess is available. TheOrkney Family HistorySociety exists to encouragethe study, collection, analysisand sharing of family historyand genealogy in Orkney.They have an office in thelibrary which is staffed byvolunteers.

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Albert Street in about 1880

The new Orkney Library and Archives was opened in 2003

Albert Street today

Orkney Wireless Museum at the Kiln Corner


Town Hall The presentTown Hall was erected in1884 and replaced a fine oldbuilding. In 1953 theOrcadian stated that, “Evenduring the last century thecathedral setting took a veryheavy knock, when some

fine-looking old houses weredestroyed, and in their placerose that architectural mon-strosity, the Town Hall, amonument to pretentious-ness if ever there was one”.The building is useful formeetings, functions and fes-

tivals and incorporates avery handy cafe. There areseveral large StanleyCursiter paintings mostly ofSt Magnus Cathedral. Alarge wall plaque lists allBa’ winners since the late19th century.

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West EndHotel


The Orkney Museum, Broad StreetBroad Street and the Kirk Green today - not much change in 120 years

Bookings advisable:Tel (01856) 873477www.orkneyhotel.co.uk

The

Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney

Comfortable accommodationall rooms with private facilities

Car park at rear of hotel

Tel (01856) 872368Fax (01856) 876181

LUNCHES Monday-Saturday 12 noon-2pm

EVENING MEALSMonday-Saturday, 6-9pm

Sunday, 5.30-8.30pm

Unique 17th century hotel

Offering superb local cuisine

Overlooking St Magnus Cathedral


Kirkwall Shopping For itssize, Kirkwall has a remark-able selection of interestingshops. These range fromdesigner jewellry andknitwear, bookshops withmany local interest publica-tions, craftshops, sportsshops, traditional independ-ent butchers and fishmon-gers, grocery and hardwarestores to electrical and cam-era outlets.

Although a few chain storesare present, The Street ismainly home to independentretailers. In recent timesseveral new and interestingfood shops have opened.Further outlets havereopened under new owner-ship and or use. Many of theshops sell local products,which range from, food anddrink to designer clothes andjewellery..

Archaeology Very littleexcavation has been done inKirkwall due to the moderntown covering all of theoriginal settlement.Remains of small piers havebeen found along what wasthe east shore of the PeerieSea but opportunities werelost when the Kiln Cornerand Auction Mart sites wereredeveloped. The formerGarden’s yard must be aprime site for investigationbefore it is redeveloped.

Evidence of the past can beseen in the form of severalsmall slipways on the westside of The Street, whichonce faced the Peerie Sea.

Perhaps the best example isat the Ivy House, at 43Albert Street. Other exam-ples are not so easy to see asthey are in back gardens,under paths, or behindclosed gates.

Inscribed stones There arenumerous lintels and otherinset stones on buildings inThe Street with inscriptions,usually referring to the mar-riage of a couple who once

lived in the house, and per-haps built it. Many of theseartefacts date from the 17th

century, when Kirkwall wasdeveloping fast. The mostelaborate is on TankernessHouse, but the less ornateare equally interesting.

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34 Victoria Street was the site of the mansion of Traill of Elsness. IT HS -John Traill and Helen Stewart 1679.. Now on the wall of the Orkney Hotel

Initialled stone in Bridge Street

Broad Street about 1870 with the Old Tolbooth in the foreground. H. Wilson,Sadler was replaced by J&W Tait’s soon after. Note the gasworks chimney.

Laying the foundation stone of Kirkwall Town Hall in 1884. The CommercialHotel was sadly demolished to build the Victorian edifice.

St Magnus Centre, the refur-bished and extended StMagnus Hall, has a main hall,meeting rooms, coffee area,friends room, study library,office space and toilets. It issituated south of theCathedral and is worth a visitfor the view alone. TheCentre is much used duringfestivals and other events aswell as for functions. Thelibrary has an fine stainedglass window donated byBrigadier Sidney Robertsonin memory of his wife.

Fusion is Kirkwall’s night-club and music venue whichhas regular and visiting DJsand live performances. Thename is influenced by theconcept, which is a blend ofclub, bar and live perform-ance music venue. The variedprogramme ensures that there

really is something for every-body. The club is situated onthe Ayre Road, near the har-bour in a former fish process-ing building..

Powerbowl is Orkney’s TenPin bowling alley and FamilyEntertainment Centre. Itincludes 8 bowling lanes, alicensed bar, an all day café,American Pool, bar football,air hockey, other amuse-ments, video games and adance stage. The complex isopen 7 days per week.

Pickaquoy Centre The“New Phoenix Cinema” ispart of the Pickaquoy Centre,and normally shows filmsseveral times per week. Theleisure centre provides every-one with the opportunity toexperience and enjoy adiverse range of sports andleisure activities. It is usedfor a diverse range of purpos-es including live music per-formances, functions, confer-ences and shows.

The Centre of Music inCastle Street is an innova-tive new feature of the town.This extremely talented duohave travelled the worldplaying their unique style oftraditional music and havereleased many albums. TheCentre has a shop, cafe andan upstairs bar where livemusic is frequently played.Tuition is also available.

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St Magnus Centre library window

Wrigley Sisters’ Centre of Music Fusion - Kirkwall’s nightclub

Pickaquoy Centre has sportand, leisure facilities and a cinema

Powerbowl 10-pin Bowling Alley


New Year’s Days. Thesetussles between the Uppiesand Doonies are veryKirkwallian and drawtogether a large fraction ofthe community in a uniquesort of way. The town hostsseveral other events and fes-tivals including the StMagnus Festival in June andthe County Show in August,but the Ba’ is really the onlyone which is very specific toKirkwall and Kirkwallians.

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KIRKWALL & ST OLATIMELINE

c.3000BC Quanterness cairnC.600BC Grain Earth Housec.200BC Brochs being builtc600 Celtic “Papae” settlec800 Norse arrive1035 Earl Rognvald Brusison

St Olaf’s Kirk & Hall1136 Earl Rognvald Kolson

Bishopric to Kirkwall1137 Cathedral work begins

Bishop’s Palace started1263 King Haakon dies1380 Kirkwall Castle built1486 Kirkwall Royal Charter1540 King James V visits1540’s Bishops Palace renovated1560 Reformation1600 Earl’s Palace started1614 Stewart Rebellion1650s Cromwell’s Castle1683 Kirkwall Library founded1750 Earl’s Palace roofless1798 Highland Park Distilleryc.1800 Ba’ played in street1811 New Pier opens1813 West Pier built1829 Bridge on Ayre to Grain1833 First regular steamship1838 Gas Company formed1850 Winter steamship service1858 Fixed bridge seals Ayre Road1859 Harbour Act1865 Junction Road built

North Isles steamship starts1876 Piped water and sewerage1884 Town Hall built1903 WR Tullock first car owner1910 Electric Theatre opens1923 GPO telephone service1924 Burgh power station opens1928 Albert Kinema opens1933 Regular air service begins1938 Hatston Airfield built

Garden’s fire, Bridge Street1947 Albert Kinema burns down1955 Phoenix Cinema opens

Papdale Infant School opens1958 TV transmissions start1967 Loganair service to Isles1973 New Grammar School opens1977 First St Magnus Festival

Radio Orkney begins1981 Lingro Broch destroyed1992 Ro-ro ferries start to N Isles1999 Pickaquoy Centre opens2002 New pier at Hatston2003 New Kirkwall Library2004 Orkney Riding Centre


KIRKWALL - PLACESOF INTEREST

St Magnus CathedralOrkney MuseumEarl’s & Bishop’s PalacesSt Magnus CentreTown HallThe StreetHarbour and Basin areaOrkney Library & ArchivesOld St Olaf’s KirkCentre of MusicWireless MuseumFusion NightclubPower BowlPickaquoy CentreSkateboard ParkSwimming PoolBowling GreenGolf CourseHighland Park DistilleryOrtak Visitor Centre

Broad Street in about 1930 from the east.

Christmas Day 1911 Men’s Ba’ - note all the hats

Burgh of Kirkwall seal in 1675Kirkwall Past, Present andFuture A visitor from thepast to the Kirkwall of todaywould notice many changes,but also many things whichhave survived the centuries.

Buildings in The Street getrenovated, extended and in afew cases replaced entirelyat regular intervals. BroadStreet was largely in its pres-ent form by 1884 and

changes have been largelycosmetic.

Harbour Street has similarlyremained the same since thebuilding of the KirkwallHotel. However The formerappeal of the Basin has beenruined by concrete and sheetpiles. Fashions change how-ever and there are great pos-sibilities for the EasternBasin area created by themarina breakwater.

Industrial fashions alsochange with gasworks,power stations, merchantsyards, garages and all man-ner of other enterprises mov-ing to Hatston, to bereplaced by a mixture oftown centre housing devel-opments, small offices,shops and other businesses.Thus, in contrast to manyother towns, Kirkwall towncentre is undergoing a veryfavourable revival.

Annual Events Many com-munity events take place inKirkwall during the year, butby far the biggest, oldest andmost all-embracing is theBa’ Game played in thestreets on Christmas and

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ST OLAHOTEL

Harbour Street, Kirkwall,Orkney KW15 1LE

Small, friendly, family-runhotel on the harbour front

All rooms en-suiteIdeally situated in town

centre situated for ferries,buses and local amenities

Tel (01856) 875090Fax (01856) 875090www.stolahotel.co.uk

Harbour Street and the Corn Slip in the 1920s

Kirkwall Harbour East Basin and marina at midsummer from Cromwell Road


Documents

KIRKWALL - CAPITAL OF ORKNEY IRKJUVAGR HE K BAY · Kirkwall MarinaRecently the Kirkwall Marina was completed by the addition of an extra breakwater to shel-ter it from northerly gales