Parish of Lady

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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1791-99: Cross, Burness, North Ronaldshay and Ladykirk
1834-45: Lady

Lady, a parish in the NE of Orkney, comprising the north-eastern part of Sanday island. Bounded SW by Cross parish, and on all other sides by the sea, it has an utmost length from NE to SW of 7 miles, a varying breadth of ½ mile and 2½ miles, and an area of 5233 acres. The coast, if one follows its ins and outs, has an extent of not less than 24 miles, being deeply indented on the NW by Otterswick Bay, on the S by Stywick Bay. It projects the headlands of Tafts Ness on the N, Start Point on the NE, Tress Ness on the SE, and Els Ness on the S; and includes two lagoons adjacent to Els Ness and Tress Ness, dry at low water, and capable of easy conversion into fine harbours. The interior is mostly low and flat, and is divided into the districts of Northwall, Sellibister, Newark, Tresness, Coligarth, Overbister, and Elsness. The soil is very various, but in most parts is a fertile mixture of mould and sand. About one-third of the land is waste and heathy, and the rest either forms good natural pasture or is under cultivation. A lighthouse is on Start Point; remains of Scandinavian buildings are in several places; three pretty large tumuli, partly surrounded by a square enclosure, are near Coligarth; and each of the seven districts is supposed to have anciently had its church or chapel. The property is divided between two. Lady is in the presbytery of North Isles and synod of Orkney; the living is worth £183. The parish church was rebuilt about 1832, and is amply commodious. The schools are noticed in our article on Sanday. Pop. (1801) 830, (1831) 858, (1861) 1122, (1871) 953, (1881)

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

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