“For well over a thousand years the Church has played an important role in life in Orkney and, while there is no exact date for the coming of Christianity to the isles, there is some evidence to suggest that Irish monks had visited the islands, some possibly even settling here, by the early 700s.”
Stronsay is one of Orkney’s most fertile of islands. It established the first Agricultural Society in Orkney in 1783, a year before the ‘Highland Society of Scotland’ (the forerunner of the ‘Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland’) was established in Edinburgh in 1784.
Ian Cooper would love to know the names of any folk on this photograph of the South School pupils & staff, believed to have been taken in the 1920s.
“in 1911, a new concrete slip with a shed atop to house the lifeboat was built at a cost of £3050. All the gear needed for the John Ryburn and its crew was also stored in this shed”
Long-tailed Ducks have been seen in Mill Bay most days this Winter and an occasional flock of Sanderling on the beach.
“Built at the Thames Ironworks near Greenwich in London, the John Ryburn was a Watson class lifeboat, 43ft (13m) long with a beam of 12½ft (4m), built at a cost of £2770 -9-5d, and was one of two lifeboats funded from a generous bequest from William McCann of Largs. “
The first copies of the 2022 Report will be available in early January 2023 – each with an original colour-sketch of a species seen that year. Price £5 including cover illustration.
“Stronsay has twice had the privilege of being a Lifeboat Station for the North Isles of Orkney and played host to lifeboats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.”
Has Stronsay Lost All Its Marbles?
“This decision had been made by the NHS Orkney Board, with no prior consultation with island clinicians or community councils.”
