Bressay is a populated island in the

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

archipelago of Scotland.

Geography and geology

Bressay lies due south of

Whalsay Whalsay ( or ''Hvals-øy'', meaning 'Whale Island') is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland. Geography Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle", is a peat-covered island in the Shetland Islands. It is situated ea ...

, west of the

Isle of Noss The Isle of Noss or Noss () is a small, previously inhabited island in Shetland, Scotland. Noss is separated from the island of Bressay by the narrow Noss Sound. It has been run as a sheep farm since 1900, and has been a national nature reserv ...

, and north of

Mousa Mousa ( "moss island") is a small island in Shetland, Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the Broch of Mousa, an Iron Age Broch, round tower, and is designated as a Special Protection Area for storm-petr ...

. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in Shetland. The population is around 360 people, concentrated in the middle of the west coast, around Glebe and Fullaburn. The island is made up of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

with some basaltic intrusions. Bressay was quarried extensively for building materials, used all over Shetland, especially in nearby

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

. There are a number of sea caves and arches. The largest of eleven lochs on the island are the Loch of Grimsetter in the east, and the Loch of Brough.

Wildlife

Bressay has a large number of migrant birds, especially in the east. The Loch of Grimsetter is a haven for

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s and

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genu ...

s. In the far south, there is a colony of

Arctic skua The parasitic jaeger (North America) or Arctic skua (Europe) (''Stercorarius parasiticus''), is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species breeding in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada ...

s. The southern half of the island has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

History

The name of the island may have been recorded in 1263 as 'Breiðoy' (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

"broad island"). In a 1490 document the island is referred to as "Brwsøy" – "Brusi's island" which name may indicate it was the 11th century base for

Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ...

Brusi Sigurdsson Brusi Sigurdsson (died between 1030 and 1035) was one of Sigurd Hlodvirsson's four sons (together with Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Thorfinn, Einar Sigurdsson, Einar and Sumarlidi Sigurdsson, Sumarlidi ). He was joint Earl of Orkney from 1014. His life i ...

. This possibility is supported by a later reference to his son Rögnvald as "Lord of the Shetlanders" and Thompson (2008) is in "no doubt " that Shetland specifically was in Brusi's possession during his joint earldom with his brothers. The Bressay Stone is an outstanding example of

Pictish art The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pictish stones. The name appears in w ...

. :''a slab of

chlorite The chlorite ion, or chlorine dioxide anion, is the halite (oxyanion), halite with the chemical formula of . A chlorite (compound) is a compound that contains this group, with chlorine in the oxidation state of +3. Chlorites are also known as s ...

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

, about wide at the top, tapering to less than a foot 00 mmat the bottom.'' The slender sides are engraved with

ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

, and the two faces with various examples of knotwork, and imagery. The top of each face has a cross. On one side, there is an engraving of two men with

crosier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catho ...

s, as well as various animals including horses, pigs, and what appears to be someone in the process of being swallowed by two

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...

s. It has been suggested that this is

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and II gun emplacements were built to guard Bressay Sound.

Infrastructure

Attractions on the island include Bressay Lighthouse. At Maryfield there is a

heritage centre A heritage centre, center, or museum, is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of Historical preservation, historical and Cultural heritage, cultural infor ...

, a hotel and the old

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

's mansion, Gardie House, built in 1724.Visit Scotland – Northern Lights Spa Hotel
Retrieved 30 June 2007. Frequent car ferries sail from Maryfield to

on the

Shetland Mainland The Mainland is the main island of Shetland, Scotland. The island contains Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick, and is the centre of Shetland's ferry and air connections. Geography It has an area of , making it the third-largest Scottish island and ...

. During the summer months, a passenger ferry service links the east coast of Bressay with the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. Lerwick and Bressay Parish Church (of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

) has three places of worship. The Bressay Church building is located close to the Marina, near the centre of the west coast of the island.

Gallery

File:Wind Bound Lerwick around 1880.jpg, Full-rigged ship ''Maella'', of

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, in Bressay Sound circa 1922 File:Crossbeddingbressay.jpg, Cross-bedding in Middle

on Bressay File:Lochofsetterbressay.jpg, Loch of Setter File:Lerwickbressay.jpg, View of

from Bressay File:Bressay Crosses St Mary's Church.jpg, A replica of the Pictish Bressay Stone in St Mary's churchyard where the original stone was found.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Cullingsbrough
bressay-history-group.org. Archived on March 2, 2012.

geos.ed.ac.uk.

paparproject.org.uk {{Authority control Islands of Shetland Important Bird Areas of Shetland Parishes of Shetland