Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

KIRK
KIRK
and garden, and the fees average £26 per annum.
Attached to the school is a good library ; and until the
last few years there was also a parochial library, sup-
ported by subscription, in which was a considerable
collection of standard works • on its discontinuance the
books were divided among the members. In the vicinity
of Old Harestanes are some remains of Druidical origin.
Near Castle-Craig are the ancient mounts called the
Castle and the Law ; they are supposed to have been
stations for the administration of justice in former times.
To the east of them is a circular intrenchment on an
eminence, named the Ring; and to the west of them,
another fortification, styled the Chesters ; both probably
military stations. A stone kistvaen, inclosing an urn of
clay with human bones, was found in 1754, at Mount-
Hill ; and at the base of that eminence was discovered,
some years afterwards, a stone coffin containing human
bones, with several rudely-formed weapons of flint, and
a small ring. James Geddes, of Rachan, author of an
essay on the Composition and Manner of Writing of
the Ancients, and of several other tracts, was born in
this parish in 17 10; and the enlightened Dugald
Stewart resided for some time at Netherurd House.
KIRKWALL and ST.
OLA, a royal burgh, a sea-
port, and parish, and for-
merly the seat of a diocese,
in the county of Orkney, of
which it is the capital ; con-
taining 3599 inhabitants, of
whom 2205 are in the burgh,
21 miles (N. by E.) from
Huna, and 327 (N.) from
Edinburgh. This place,
which is situated in the
south-eastern portion of the
Mainland, is of great antiquity, and from a very early
date has been distinguished for its importance. The
rural district around the town, called St. Ola, and sup-
posed to have been originally a separate parish, derived
its name from the foundation of a church by Olave, the
first Christian king of Norway, to whom the Orkney
Islands at that time belonged, at a period anterior to
the erection of the ancient cathedral. The buildings
near its site, which now constitute a portion of what is
styled the Old Town, bear evident traces of remote an-
tiquity. The burgh appears to have derived its name,
originally " Kirkcovog," now Kirkwall, from the erection
of the Cathedral of St Magnus, founded in 1138, by
Ronald, Earl of Orkney, in honour of his uncle, Magnus,
the preceding earl, who had been assassinated by his
relative, Haco, of Norway, in 1110, and canonized after
his death : this cathedral, from its splendour and mag-
nificence, was called the Great Kirk, an appellation sub-
sequently appropriated to the town. The see, which
had jurisdiction over the whole of the county of Orkney,
subsisted under a regular succession of prelates, of
whom Robert Reid was the last Roman Catholic bishop,
till the abolition of episcopacy in Scotland. Among its
earliest endowments were the lands of the parish of
St. Ola, which, on the erection of the town into a royal
burgh by charter of James III., and the cession of these
islands to the Scottish crown, were partly vested in the
magistrates and burgesses as a fund for keeping the
cathedral of St. Magnus in repair. This ancient church
128
Burgh Seal.
is a stately cruciform structure of red freestone, partly
in the Norman, and partly in the early and later English
styles of architecture, with a massive central tower,
formerly surrounded by a lofty spire, which, being de-
stroyed by lightning in 1671, has been replaced by a
low pyramidal roof. The entire length of the cathedral
is 226 feet, and the breadth fifty-six. The roof, which
is richly groined, is seventy-one feet in height from the
floor, and is sustained by a range of fourteen pillars on
each side, fifteen feet in circumference, exclusive of four
massive columns twenty-four feet in circumference,
supporting the central tower, which rises to a height of
133 feet, and contains a fine set of musical chimes, pre-
sented by Bishop Maxwell in 152S. The east window,
inserted by Bishop Stewart, in the reign of James IV.,
is of elegant design, thirty-six feet high and twelve feet
in width, surmounted by a circular window twelve feet
in diameter ; in the south transept is a circular window
of equal dimensions, and at the west end of the nave a
window similar to that of the choir, but inferior in size
and embellishment. This venerable pile, from its remote
situation, escaped the havoc committed on such struc-
tures at the Reformation, and is still entire. It contains
numerous finely-sculptured monuments, of which one at
the east end, of white marble, was erected to the me-
mory of Haco, King of Norway, who died in the bishop's
palace after his return from the disastrous battle of
Largs, in 1264, and was interred within the choir :
there are also many monuments of Scandinavian chief-
tains, saints, and warriors, with some of modern date,
among which is a tablet to the historian Laing. The
Episcopal palace appears to have been of very ancient
foundation, probably coeval with that of the cathedral ;
but by whom it was erected is not known. It was partly
rebuilt in the time of Mary, by Bishop Reid, whose
initials and armorial bearings are inscribed on several
parts of the walls ; and on that side of the round tower
facing the town is a niche, in which is a rude statue of
the prelate. This tower forms at present the only
portion of the palace that is in any tolerable state of
preservation. The palace was, in 1264, for some time
the abode of Haco, King of Norway : and was also the
temporary residence of James V., who was entertained
by the bishop when, on a progress through his domi-
nions, he visited the Orkney Islands.
The town is situated in the northern portion of a
tract of land extending from the bay of Kirkwall, on the
north, to Scalpa bay, on the south ; and is divided into
the Old Town, along the shore of the former, and the
New Town, a little to the south, by a small rivulet over
which is an ancient bridge of one arch. It consists
chiefly of one narrow and irregularly-formed street,
about a mile in length, and is lighted with gas by a
company of shareholders. The houses in the Old Town
are mostly of very antiquated character, built with the
end fronting the street, and having steep roofs, and
doors and windows of diminutive size ; but such of
them as are of more modern erection are of handsome
appearance. TheNewTown consists of well-built houses ;
in front of each is a neat garden, and there are several
pleasing villas inhabited by opulent families, and nume-
rous well-stored shops for the supply of the inhabitants
with various articles of merchandize from Edinburgh,
London, and other markets. There are two subscrip-
tion libraries, and card and daucing assemblies are held