“Later that morning, after news of the shipwreck reached Kirkwall, the Orcadia was despatched to Stronsay where she took on board all the Rognvald’s passengers and conveyed them to Kirkwall. “
The first S.S. Saint Rognvald – Part 2
The First S.S. Saint Rognvald – Part 1
” the73m, 980 ton screw steamship St Rognvald was named and launched in June 1883. “
Records of a Bygone Age: Donald Horne Learmonth of Housebay
“Donald and Roseanna had eight children, the oldest of whom would have been aged 18 and the youngest aged 5 at the time of Donald’s death”
Records of a bygone age: Public dinner in honour of Robert Learmonth of Housebay, 1857
“A public dinner in Robert Learmonth’s honour was held at Samson’s Lane in Stronsay on 15th December 1857 “
The ‘Improving Lairds’ and the Learmonths of Housebay: Robert, followed by his son Donald Horne Learmonth.Part 2
From Records of a bygone age by Ian Cooper
The ‘Improving Lairds’ and the Learmonths of Housebay: Robert Followed by His Son Donald Horne Learmonth
“uniformly of the finest quality of deep land, a good clay loam, and they are farmed in a style that cannot be surpassed anywhere in the kingdom.”
A Boating Tragedy at Burgh Head: Records of a Bygone Age
One fine summer’s evening many years ago, on Thursday 15th May 1862, James Brown, a blacksmith from the cottage of Hunday in Stronsay, and farm servant Peter Miller, also from Hunday, decided to go on a fishing trip off the nearby headland of Burgh Head.
Gaan tae the spoots – Part 2
“A couple of weeks ago, I decided I would need to do my bit to preserve one of the old Orcadian traditions and go to the spoots.”
Gaan Tae The Spoots – Part 1
Strictly speaking this isn’t a record of a bygone age at all, as ‘gaan tae the spoots’ is still a pastime enjoyed by a dedicated but seemingly ever decreasing group of folk, although apparently not taken as seriously as in days of yore.
The Loss of the Barque Agil in 1877
“There is quite an intriguing story behind the stranding and loss of the 215 ton Canadian three-masted barque Agil almost 150 years ago and the events which followed.”
