By Bernie Bell

We visited St. Magnus’ Cathedral in September ’23 when we went to see ‘The Sun’ as part of the Orkney International Science Festival

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and the place was full of noise and people

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January ‘24, in the morning – there was just me and a man painting a picture of one of the stained glass windows, and it was once again a wonderfully peaceful place to be.

I’ve been in St. M’s many times, and taken many pictures

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This time, I had the space and peace to notice details which hadn’t registered before.

Coming in through the main doors – through the ‘Vessel of Light’ – I turned left with the intention of going round the cathedral, taking photos along the way.

Simply a pleasing shape

An Orkney Wall of Fame….

Top row – left to right – George MacKay Brown, Robert Rendall, Margaret C. Tait

Second row – left to right – Edwin Muir, John Mooney, J. Storer Clouston

Third row – left to right – Stanley Cursitor, Hugh Marwick, Eric Linklater.

…..with Orkney’s own Arctic explorer John Rae reclining elegantly before it…

Arches

“In this pillar lie the remains of Magnus Erlend’s son, Earl of Orkney who on 16^th April 1115 (?), was slain on the island of Egilsay  *  Canonised on 13^th Dec 1133 ** To his memory Rognvald built this cathedral.”

Look out for the plaque and you’ll find the pillar

The Man Himself

Information about the St. Magnus Way

The cheeriest skeleton I’ve ever seen! 

Symbolic carvings on the ends of pews (the Gospels)

A spider’s web – life in the hard stones

The last of the old prayer chairs, which I much preferred to the new ones

There’s always something more to see.