Graemsay

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Graemsay, an island of Hoy parish, Orkney, in Hoy Sound, ½ mile S of Stromness, and ½ mile E of Bowkirk in Hoy island. Measuring 1½ mile in length from NW to SE, and 1 in breadth, it is all low and level; lies, almost throughout, on a bed of schistose rock; and is mainly covered with excellent soil, much of it being arable. Two lighthouses, guiding the navigation of Hoy Sound, were erected on the island in 1851 at a cost of £15,880. They bear from each other SE ¼E and NW¼ W; and they show lights visible at the distance of 11 and 15 nautical miles. The higher light, towards the western entrance of Hoy Sound, is a fixed red light, illuminating an arc from SE by E to SE ½ S towards SE; and also shows, towards Stromness, a bright fixed light from SSE¼ E to WSW; and towards Cava, an arc from NNW ½ W to N ½ W southerly. The lower light is a fixed bright light from E ½ S to W ½ N, facing northward. The island was anciently a vicarage united to Hoy rectory, and served every third Sunday by the minister of Hoy; but it neither pays stipend nor has any glebe; and it is now under the pastoral care of the minister of Stromness. Pop. (1831) 225, (1861) 230, (1871) 250, (1881) 236.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer