ORKNEY-ISLANDS, a group, forming, with that of Shetland,
a maritime county, in the northern extremity of
Scotland. They are bounded on the north
by the waters which divide Orkney from Shetland; on the
east by the North Sea; on the south by the Pentland
Firth, which separates the isles from Caithness; and
on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. They lie between
58° 44' and 59° 24' (N. Lat.) and 2° 25' and 3° 20'
(W. Long.), and extend about fifty miles in length and
nearly thirty miles in breadth; comprising an area of
235 square miles, or 150,000 acres; 6325 houses, of
which 6181 are inhabited; and containing a population
of 30,507, of whom 13,831 are males and 16,6*6 females.
These islands, anciently the Orcades, most probably
derived that name from Cape Orcas, opposite to which
they are situated, and which is noticed by Ptolemy as a
remarkable promontory on the Caithness coast: it is
supposed that the isles were origiually peopled from
Caithness. The Orkney and the Shetland Islands appear
to have been explored by the Romans, who, however,
retained no permanent possession of either; and
they were both subsequently occupied by the Picts, a
Scandinavian tribe who, settling at first in the Western
Isles, soon spread themselves over the greater portion
of Scotland. Under the Picts, the islands of Orkney
seem to have been governed by a succession of petty
kings, that exercised a kind of independent sovereignty
till the year 8*6. At that period Harold Harfager, King
of Norway, landing here with a powerful force, reduced
them to his dominion; and on his return to Norway, he
appointed Ronald, a Norwegian earl, to be their governor,
whom he invested with the title of Earl of
Orkney, and under whose successors they remained for
many generations, as an appendage of the crown of Norway,
till the reign of James III., since which time they
have formed part of the kingdom of Scotland.
The first Earls of Orkney under the kings of Scotland
were the St. Clairs, from whom the earldom reverted to
the crown; and the lands, for nearly a century, were
leased to various tenants. Mary, Queen of Scots, in
1564, granted a charter of the crown territory to Lord
Robert Stewart. On her marriage with the Earl of
Bothwell, she revoked this gift in favour of the earl,
whom she had engaged to create Duke of Orkney: he
never, however, obtained possession; and the dukedom
was forfeited. Lord Robert Stewart afterwards became
Earl of Orkney, but on the second earl's being brought
to the scaffold in 16 15, the islands again came to the
crown. In 1*07 they were mortgaged to the Earl of
Morton; and the mortgage being subsequently declared
irredeemable, the rights of the islands were in 1766 sold
by the then Earl of Morton to Sir Laurence Dundas,
ancestor of the Earl of Zetland. In 1814 it was calculated
that the family drew annually from the ancient
earldom of Orkney £2187 in money and produce, in
addition to tlieir large private estates in the isles. For
many ages, lands in these islands were held by what
was called Udal tenure. They were exempt from all
taxes to the crown, and the proprietor acknowledged no
superior lord; at the death of the father, the property
was equally divided among all the children; and no
fines were levied on entrance. Under the later earls,
however, this system of tenure, which was supposed to
be adverse to their interest, was gradually discouraged;
and on the last annexation to the crown, it was wholly
discontinued.
Before the abolition of episcopacy, the islands were
included in the diocese of Orkney, the precise date of
the foundation of which is not accurately known. Christianity
is, however, supposed to have been introduced
here by St. Columba, about the year 570, and again by
Olaus, King of Norway, in the year 1000; and the
cathedral church of St. Magnus, in Kirkwall, is thought
to have been founded about 1138. The see flourished
under a succession of at least twenty-nine prelates, ineluding
seven Protestant bishops, till the Revolution,
since which it has constituted the synods of Orkney and
.Shetland; the former containing the presbyteries of
Kirkwall, Cairston, and North Isles, and eighteen parishes.
For civil purposes, Orkney, which was previously
a county of itself, has, since the passing of the act for
amending the representation, been united with Shetland,
under the jurisdiction of one sheriff, by whom two
sheriffs-substitute are appointed. One of these holds
his courts weekly at Kirkwall. Here, also, the justiceof-
peace courts are held on the first Wednesday, and at
Stromness on the last Tuesday, in every month; and
courts for the recovery of small debts occur several
times a year, at Stromness, St. Margaret's Hope, and
Sanda; but no particular days are fixed. The towns are,
Kirkwall, which is a royal burgh and the county town,
and Stromness, which is a burgh of barony; there are
several villages, and some fishing-stations on the coast.
Under the provisions of the act above mentioned, Shetland
joins with Orkney in returning a member to the
imperial parliament.
The Orkneys comprise a cluster of sixty-seven islands,
of which twenty-nine are inhabited, and the remainder
chiefly small holms affording pasturage for cattle. Of
the inhabited islands the principal are Pomona or
the Mainland, Rousay, Westray, Papa-Westray, Eday,
Sanda, North Ronaldshay, Stronsay, Shapinshay, Hoy,
Flotta, South Ronaldshay, Eagleshay, Burray, and the
smaller islands of Faray, Gairsay, and Gra;msay. Towards
the east the surface is level, and of very moderate
elevation above the sea; but the ground rises gradually
towards the west, where the coasts are bounded by hills
of considerable height. The lands are intersected by
numerous streams, but none of them entitled to the
appellation of rivers; and are diversified with numerous
lakes, most of which are also of small extent, varying
from a mile to four miles in circumference. That of
Stennis, however, in the parish of Firth, in Pomona, is
more than fourteen miles in circumference; and is
divided into two parts by a peninsular projection, on
which are some highly interesting Druidical remains.
Of the lands, about 30,000 acres are arable, nearly an
equal quantity in meadow and pasture, 4000 in freshwater
lakes, and the remainder chiefly heath, peat-moss,
and undivided common. Though destitute of timber,
the scenery is pleasing from the alternation of hill and
dale; many of the hills are covered with verdure to the
summit, and others, for some distance above their bases,
are under profitable cultivation. The soil in the jjlains
is sandy; in some other parts, a clayey loam alternated
with gravelly soil: there are several tracts of grass-land
of luxuriant growth, and the mosses afford abundance of
peat for fuel.
The crops are barley, oats, rye, flax, and a moderate
portion of wheat, with potatoes and turnips, of which
very fine crops are raised. The general system of agriculture,
however, though gradually imjiroving, is comparatively
in a backward state. The farms, also, are
mostly of very small extent, some not exceeding ten
acres; but there are several exceptions, and an example
of skill and a spirit of enterprise have been set
forth by some of the proprietors of lands, which may
soon produce important alterations. Though limestone
is plentiful, the principal manure is the sea-weed obtained
on the coasts. Both the sheep and the cattle are
of the native breed; the horses are of the Shetland
breed. From the roots and trunks of trees found in the
tracts of peat-moss, it would appear that there were
anciently extensive woods; yet very few trees are now
to be seen, except such as are of modern plantation, and
these only thrive in sheltered situations. They are chiefly
the plane, common and mountain ash, elm, and willow.
The substrata of the lands are mainly sandstone of various
colours, schistose-clay, limestone, and in some parts
breccia, and specimens of basaltic formation. Attempts
have been made in search of iron-ore, and hsematites of
iron were discovered in tolerable plenty, and of rich quality;
but similar attempts to discover lead-ore have not
been attended with success. In Orkney the gentlemen's
seats are Burness, Brugh, Burgar, Carrick, Cliffdale,
Cairston, Woodwick, Holland, and Tankerness.
The manufactures pursued here are, those of stockings,
blankets, and coarse woollen-cloth, for home use;
the spinning of yarn and the weaving of linen, which are
increasing; the manufacture of thread for the firms of
Montrose; the platting of straw for bonnets, in which
more than '2000 females are employed; and the manufacture
of kelp, formerly much more extensive than at
present, but still far from being inconsiderable. A profitable
trade is carried on at the several ports on the
coast, in the exportation of beef, pork, salt, fish, butter,
tallow, hides, oil, feathers, linen yarn and cloth, and kelp;
and in the importation of timber, iron, flax, coal, tobacco
and snuff, wines, spirits, soap, leather, broad cloth, printed
linens and cottons, groceries, and hardware. The building
of boats, also, and the making of sails, nets, and
cordage, are pursued in connexion with the shipping.
In a late year there were registered, as belonging to Orkney,
seventy-eight vessels of the aggregate burthen of
4050 tons. The cod and herring fisheries are extensive.
In the former about twenty vessels are employed, and in
the latter about 750 boats; and 500 tons of cod, and
50,000 barrels of herrings, upon the average, are annually
shipped off from the several ports. The principal fishingstations
are Papa-Stronsay, Deer Sound, Holm, Burray,
and St. Margaret's Hope in South Ronaldshay. Lobsters
of very superior quality are found in great abundance,
and sent in smacks to London: crabs, mackerel,
grayling, trout, salmon, turbot, halibut, haddock, common
and conger eels, and skate, are also found. The
coasts are indented with numerous" havens, in which the
largest ships may anchor in safety. In some parts the
shores are low and sandy; in others, rocky and precipitous,
especially the shores on the west of Hoy island,
which rise perpendicularly to a height of more than 1000
feet ahove the level of the sea, and are frequented by
sea-fowl of every kind, that build their nests in the cliffs.
Facility of communication throughout the Mainland and
the other large islands is maintained by good roads; and
intercourse with the smaller islands, on some of which,
during the season, temporary huts are erected for the
manufacture of kelp, is afforded by the tides in the several
firths, which, though rapid and dangerous, are to
those who know them an expeditious mode of communication.
Between Kirkwall and Caithness is a ferry for
the mail, and for passengers, across the Pentland Firth,
here about twelve miles in breadth. A steam-packet
sails weekly during the summer between Shetland and
Leith, touching at the intermediate ports; and also
sailing-packets monthly from Kirkwall and Stromness
to the port of Leith. The annual value of the real property
in Orkney is £2^2,858, of which £21,430 are returned
for lands, and the remainder for houses.
There are numerous monuments of antiquity in the
islands; the principal are the ancient Picts" houses,
which are found in many places. In the island of Westray
are a large number of graves, probably covered
originally by tumuli or barrows, but now exposed to view
by the drifting of the sand: some are formed of numerous
small stones, others of four larger stones; and in
all have been found warlike instruments and other ancient
relics. There are various remains of Druidical circles;
the most interesting are those of Stennis, once consisting
of thirty- five stones, thirteen of which remain, varying
from ten to sixteen feet in height. In Kirkwall are the
ancient cathedral, dedicated to St. Magnus, nearly entire,
and now used as the parish church; the bishop's palace,
near the cathedral, but a ruin; the remains of the palace
erected in 160* by Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney,
which are considerable; and the ruins of King's Castle,
erected in the fourteenth century by Earl St. Clair, of
which little more than the site is remaining.