Medieval Kirkwall: Saints, Earls, Close-Wynd Secrets
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About this tour
A tighter heritage walk focused on medieval and early-modern Kirkwall: the cathedral as the anchor, the ruined palaces as political theatre, narrow lanes and older civic buildings as the texture, and small historic remnants such as Watergate House or the Groatie Hoose where they fit. The narration should feel like decoding a tiny Norse-Scottish capital, not simply listing old buildings.
Tour Stops (5)
St Magnus Cathedral
Standing here, you can see why this building is the anchor of our town. St Magnus Cathedral was founded in 1137 by Earl Rognvald, intended as a monumental reliquary for the bones of his uncle, St Magnus. While the Peedie Kirk we just left reflects the later, more modest congregational life of Kirkwall, this structure w…
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, viewed from the Bishop's Palace | 🔗 wikipedia.org
Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1899) (14762030436) | 🔗 wikipedia.org
Mary Young monument, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney | 🔗 wikipedia.org
The Groatie Hoose
Standing here in the Tankerness House Gardens, you are looking at the Groatie Hoose. It is a small, rectangular structure that looks a bit out of place with its tall, pointed spire, but its origins are tied directly to the darker side of Orkney’s maritime history. The building dates to the 1720s, constructed originally…
File:The Groatie Hoose - geograph.org.uk - 1441813 | 🔗 wikimedia.org
The Orkney Museum
Standing here on Broad Street, you are looking at Tankerness House, now the Orkney Museum. While it serves as the repository for the island’s history, the building itself is perhaps the most honest artifact in our collection. It began in the early 16th century as two separate manse houses for the Cathedral clergy, serv…
Orkney Museum (geograph 6172873) | 🔗 wikipedia.org
File:Kirkwall Orkney Wireless Museum seen from the southwest | 🔗 wikimedia.org
File:Kirkwall Tankerness House Museum Entrance | 🔗 wikimedia.org
Bishop’s and Earl's Palaces
Standing here, you can see the architectural tension that defines Kirkwall’s transition from a Norse ecclesiastical hub to a Scottish noble stronghold. To your left is the Bishop’s Palace, a 13th-century structure that serves as the oldest domestic building in town. It was here in 1263 that King Haakon IV of Norway spe…
File:Earl's Palace, Kirkwall - geograph.org.uk - 82810 | 🔗 wikimedia.org
File:Kirkwall, Bishop's Palace - geograph.org.uk - 3211491 | 🔗 wikimedia.org
1 Manse Lane
We have moved from the former police station at Watergate House into the quiet, narrow artery of Manse Lane. Standing here at number one, you can see how the modern utility of the building—currently housing an electrical contracting firm—contrasts with the ancient layout of the street. While the building itself is a fu…
File:Beith Manse to the Manse Fields, Bieth, North Ayrshire, Scotland | 🔗 wikimedia.org
File:Manse Lane football ground, Knaresborough (6th September 2023) 002 | 🔗 wikimedia.org
File:Manse Lane football ground, Knaresborough (6th September 2023) 005 | 🔗 wikimedia.org
Tour Information
- Tour Type
- Walking tour
- Audio Language
- English
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