Kirkwall

The town was first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046, when it was recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason, the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a royal burgh. On the western edge of the town, surrounded by Hatston Industrial Estate, there is a prehistoric monument, known as the "Grain Earth House" (see Historic Scotland). It is a short, low, stone-walled passage, deep underground, leading to a small pillared chamber. This kind of earth house (or "souterrain") is characteristic of the Northern Isles (although the Grain Earth House is unusually deep below ground). It was originally connected to a surface dwelling, which has since disappeared. The purpose of these Iron Age structures remains unknown. Further west, towards Grimbister, there is a similar structure, known as Rennibister Earth House.[5]

Kirkwall is the administrative centre of Orkney, and the site of the headquarters of both Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney.[6]

From 1708 to 1918, Kirkwall was a parliamentary burgh, and was combined with Dingwall, Dornoch, Tain and Wick to form the Northern Burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain (1708–1801) and then of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801–1918). (Cromarty was added to this constituency in 1832.) The constituency was a district of burghs known as the Tain Burghs until 1832, and then as the Wick Burghs. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) until 1918, when the constituency was abolished and Kirkwall was merged politically into the county constituency of Orkney and Shetland. Although sometimes referred to as "The City and Royal Burgh of Kirkwall",[7] Kirkwall is not technically a city. (See city status in the United Kingdom.)[lower-alpha 1]

In the 1784–85 term, the well-known outspoken Liberal Charles James Fox represented Tain in the British Parliament. His political opponents fiercely objected to his having been elected from his usual constituency, Westminster; the unlikely resolution of this dispute was that Fox was made a burgess of Kirkwall.[9]

Kirkwall is 130 miles (210 kilometres) north of Aberdeen and 528 mi (850 km) north of London. It is situated on the northern coast of Mainland, Orkney, with its harbours in the bay of Kirkwall to the north, and with Scapa Flow 1.4 mi (2.3 km) to the south. Its parish, St Ola, forms the isthmus between Firth and Holm. It is the most populous island settlement in Scotland.[10]

The population of Kirkwall is continuously on the rise. The population rose from 6,205 in 2001 to 9,293 in 2011 to reach an estimated 10,020 in 2020.[16][17]

Kirkwall harbour with nearly 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) of quay edge is the second commercial hub for Orkney after Hatston. There is a Marina, and support for fishing and dive vessels.[18] After extensive work on harbour facilities, the town has become a popular cruise ship stop, with several ships arriving each week in the season. This has added to the prosperity of the town and allowed a thriving sector of independently owned shops. Each year now, 140 cruise ships visit Kirkwall and Stromness.[19]

Weaving in Orkney took place from Viking times, with John Sclater & Co involved in Tweed production in Kirkwall in the 1970s. They used the brand names Norsaga and Jarltex.[20][21]

Orkney Library and Archive, Kirkwall

The Orkney Library and Archive is in Kirkwall. Kirkwall also has the most northerly of the world's Carnegie libraries, which was opened by Andrew Carnegie and his wife in 1909. The building survives, although the library has since moved to a larger building on Junction Road which opened in August 2003.[22]

The town has two museums, the larger being The Orkney Museum in Tankerness House, which contains items of local historical interest within one of Scotland's best-preserved 16th-century town-houses.[23] It is a Category A listed building Scotland. The prehistoric, Pictish and Viking collections are of international importance. The other museum is the Orkney Wireless Museum, dealing with the history of radio and recorded sound.[24] It is located in a Category C listed building, possibly the former harbour master's office, on Junction Road.[25] Orkney Tourist Board is located in an 18th century Category B listed building on Broad Street.[26]

There is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat station.[27]

One of the major annual events in the town is the Ba Game, held each Christmas Day and New Year's Day between the Uppies and the Doonies, each team representing one half of the town.[28]

Kirkwall Town Hall exterior

Broad Street in Kirkwall

Kirkwall has many 17th–18th-century houses and other structures in the local vernacular style. Kirkwall Town Hall was completed in 1884.[34]

Kirkwall is a port with ferry services to Aberdeen and Lerwick, as well as the principal north islands in the group. Hatson pier, the main ferry terminal, is some 2 mi (3 km) outside the town centre.[35]

The Aberdeen, Leith, Clyde & Tay Shipping Company operated steamer services to Kirkwall from 1836, with successor companies operating until 2002.[36]

Kirkwall Airport, the main airport for Orkney, is 2+1⁄2 mi (4 km) southeast of the town. There are no passenger rail services in Kirkwall, the nearby railways having been industrial or military.[37][38]

St. Magnus Cathedral dominates the Kirkwall skyline

The 'Kirk' of Kirkwall was not the Cathedral (which was originally at Birsay), but the 11th-century church of Saint Olaf of Norway. One late medieval doorway survives from this church, and an aumbry from the original church survives within the late 19th-century structure of the present-day Saint Olaf's Church (Episcopal) in the town's Dundas Crescent. At the heart of the town stands St Magnus Cathedral, which was founded in memory of Saint Magnus Erlendsson, Earl of Orkney 1108–1117 by Earl (later Saint) Rögnvald Kali.[42] Next to the Cathedral are the ruins of the former Bishop's Palace[43] and Earl's Palace.[44]

The Pickaquoy Centre, Orkney's largest leisure centre, is located in Kirkwall, which opened in 1999.[45]

Kirkwall Grammar School Sports Centre has indoor sports facilities, and grass and synthetic pitches, available to the public.[46]

Kirkwall is twinned with:

• Conran of Orkney, 7th-century Bishop of the Orkneys[48]
• Stanley Cursiter, Painter and Limner, was born in East Road[49]
• Ola Gorie, jewellery designer[50]
• Peter Marshall was educated in Kirkwall[51]
• Clara Anne Williams (née Rendall), born Kirkwall 24 July 1887,[52] missionary, teacher, and wife of Rev. Aeneas Francon Williams was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal in 1946 for her work during WWII being in-charge of Red Cross work in Dooars, Bengal, India.[53]
• Ann Scott-Moncrieff, author and writer[54]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirkwall.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kirkwall.

• Orkneyjar – The Royal Burgh of Kirkwall
• Listen to recordings of a speaker of Kirkwall Scots