Skaill House, Sandwick, is open for the season. Tickets are part of a joint package with Skara Brae (which is managed by Historic Environment Scotland). This is a great time of year to visit before it gets busier.

HES recommend booking online, which I did. Click on this link to book tickets: Skara Brae and Skaill House.

Skaill House is a 17th Century mansion built for Bishop George Graeme. He built a House at Breckness, near Stromness in 1633 and started Skaill in 1620.

 The oldest part of the present house of Skaill probably dates from the late 17th century, the remainder being 18th- 19th century and modern. It probably stands on the site of the house of Bishop George Graham (1615-38), Canmore.

The Ruins of Breckness: the Grahams

The House at Skaill still contains his bed – probably one of several he would have had and which is fabulous as befitting the Bishop of Orkney.

Renovations at Skaill House, when it was decided to open to the public, discovered burials from the Medieval period. There is more information in one of the rooms about those excavations and those of Skara Brae, discovered by the Laird William Watt after huge storms uncovered it in 1850.

The interior walls of Skaill House are adorned with interesting pictures, illustrations, paintings, and cross stitch panels which are all worth having time to look at closely. It is so easy to pass these by when the mansion is busy. The House also contains a fine painting by Stanley Cursiter.

The links to the most famous Grahame of all – James Grahame, Marquis of Montrose who stayed there when getting together a force on his last campaign to restore a Stewart to the throne, are seen in a portrait of him and the family tree.

The campaign ended in disaster with many Orcadians never to return home and Orkney paying a heavy price for supporting the Royalist cause.

Of Cromwell, Cavaliers and Covenanters: Orkney Under Occupation

The gardens were being worked on while I was there. Once an important part of the house both for pleasure and for the provision of fruit and vegetables it was wonderful to see how they are being restored.

There’s plenty of interest in Skaill House: Captain Cook’s dinner service, (which is a story in itself), and the imposing dining room. The artefacts from later periods demonstrate the international connections of trade, conquest and of Empire.

On the way out visitors pass through the gift shop. This excellent little shop has many unique and locally produced gifts at a range of prices.

Fiona Grahame

Stromness: The First and Last Port of Call