RONALDSHAY-SOUTH, a parish, in the county
of Orkney; containing 3194 inhabitants, of whom
186" are in the district of St-Peter, 789 in the district of St-Mary,
and .538 in the district of Burray. This parish includes
the old parish of St. Peter in the northern, and the old
parish of St. Mary in the southern, portion of the island
of South Ronaldshay; with the isle of Swona and the
two Skerries in the Peutland Firth, of which the former
and one of the latter are inhabited. It also includes the
old parish and island of Burray, with the isles of Huiida
and (ilemsholm in the bay of Holm Sound, of which
the latter is uninhabited. These three parishes have been
united from time immemorial. South Ronaldshay is
supposed to have derived its name from one of its ancient
proprietors, Ronald, a Danish count. From the great
irregularity of its form, its extent has never been correctly
ascertained; it is about six miles in length, and
four miles in average breadth. The island of Burray,
which is situated to the north of it, and is separated by
the ferry of Water Sound, about one mile broad, is four
miles in length, and averages from one mile to two
miles in breadth. Swona, which is nearly four miles to
the west of South Ronaldshay, and in the Pentland Firth,
is a mue and a half in length and nearly one mile in
breadth: the northern of the Skerries, on which a lighthouse
has been erected, is little more than a mile in
circumference; and the other is of still smaller extent.
The SURFACE of the parish is generally low, the highest
lands nut attaining an elevation of 300 feet above the
level of the sea. The soil is various, consisting of clay,
black loam, sand, and moss, frequently in combination,
and sometimes in all their varieties upon one field; in
Burray the soil is generally a light sand, and in the isle
of Swona a black earth mixed with sand and gravel.
The chief crops are oats and bear, with potatoes and
turnips; there are some fine fields of red and white
clover, and natural grasses yielding luxuriant pasture.
Agriculture is, however, in a very unimproved state;
and, from the abundance of shell-sand, more than double
the quantity of land now in cultivation might be made
to produce excellent crops of corn. It appears also that
the farm-buildings are of very inferior order. The substratum
is principally blue or black clay-slate, alternated
with sandstone, and sandstone flag; lead-ore has been
found here, and some attempts were made to work it,
but without success. A village called St. Margaret's
Hope is pleasantly situated on the eastern coast, on the
shore of the bay of that name, which forms a safe and
commodious harbour; and on the western coast is the
harbour of Widewall, opening to the Pentland Firth and
Stromness. Of these two harbours, the former is much
frequented by smaller vessels and smacks employed in
the fisheries, and the latter is accessible to ships of 600
or 700 tons, which frequently have recourse to it for
shelter. There are several bold headlands, some of
which rise perpendicularly to a height of nearly 300 feet.
The population are engaged in agriculture and in the
fisheries; and many of the females are employed in the
platting of straw. Eleven sloops are engaged in the codfishery
till the season for herrings commences, during
which many thousand barrels of herrings are cured for
exportation; the quantity of cod, ling, and hake annually
taken and cured here is nearly 150 tons. In the village
of St. Margaret's Hope is a post-office with a daily delivery;
and a subscription and parochial library has
been established there. A fair for lean cattle is held in
November, and others are growing into use.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Kirkwall and synod of Orkney.
The minister's stipend is £200, with an allowance
of £8. 6. 8. for communion elements, a manse, and a
glebe valued at £12. 6. 8. per annum; patron, the Earl
of Zetland. The church of St. Mary, in the south, is
situated near the western shore; and that of St. Peter,
in the north portion of the parish, within a few yards of
the sea, on the eastern coast. They are both ancient
buildings, and were repaired in 1802; the former contains
273, and the latter 413 sittings. Burray church
has been in ruins nearly from the commencement of the
present century. Considerable addition might be made
to the number of seats by the erection of galleries in the
two existing churches. There is a place of worship for
members of the United Presbyterian Church. The parochial
school is near the village of St. Margaret's Hope;
the master has a salary of £26, with a house and garden,
and the fees. A school was founded by 'William Tomison,
Esq., who endowed it with a house and £40 per
annum for the teacher, for the gratuitous instruction of
children of the three united parishes. Mr. Tomison
also bequeathed £"200 for the poor of the South district,
of which he was a native, and a sum for the erection and
endowment of a female school, which is being suffered
to accumulate for that purpose. William Sutherland,
Esq., a resident heritor of the North district, bequeathed
£200 for the benefit of the poor of that district. There
are several subscription schools. In the parish are
some remains of Picts' houses, tumuli, and numerous
vestiges of intrenchments consisting of mounds of earth.
Near the manse is a subterraneous building, eleven feet
long, three feet wide, and nearly of equal height; the
interior is paved with stones evidently taken from the
beach. Several old coins have been found; and there
are Druidical relics, and remains of ancient chapels: the
ancient churches and these chapels are all built near
running water.