Eynhallow Church 20110526 from southeast

Eynhallow Church is a ruined

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church located on the

uninhabited island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

Eynhallow Eynhallow is a small, presently uninhabited island in Eynhallow Sound, between Rousay and the Mainland of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is in area. There is an unnamed skerry about to the north-east of the island, sepa ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The church dates back to the 12th-century and is thought to have originally been a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. Near the church are the building remains from a

post-medieval Post-medieval archaeology is a term used in Europe to describe the study of the material past over the last 500 years. The field is also referred to as historical archaeology, a term originating in North America, and common in countries impacted ...

village.

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

first listed the site as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

in 1921.

Description

The ruins of Eynhallow church are situated on a slope in southwestern Eynhallow, in Orkney, Scotland. The island lies between

Rousay Rousay (, ; meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversity and importance. Like its ...

and

Mainland, Orkney The Mainland, also known as Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's popu ...

. The site consists of a roofless 12th-century church, measuring by across. The church was later modified and was used as a residential dwelling, beginning in the 16th century. Much of the church's original

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

is still visible. The best surviving features of the church are the walls of the porch, the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s in the nave, and the foundation of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

walls. The interior contains a rectangular sized

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with a

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

at its west end and a square-ended

at the east end. A tower may have later been added on top of the west porch. Several pieces of carved,

red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed o ...

were later found in an outbuilding. To the southwest of the church is the site of a 16th-century settlement. The settlement contains the remains of at least four adjoining houses. These houses may have built upon earlier structures, possibly buildings connected with the church. The settlement is approximately by in size. Eynhallow is normally accessible by private boat from Rousay or

. Currently (January, 2022), the site is listed as "not open to visitors due to high level

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

inspections".

History

Little is known about the history of Eynhallow Church. It may have been part of a monastery, possibly of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

order.J. Gifford, ''The Buildings of Scotland - Highland and Islands'' (2003). Yale University Press. . Pages 299-300. It has been determined that the church was built in the 12th century. Because of the name of the island, it is likely that Eynhallow was an important religious centre. ''Eyin-Helha'' is

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 ...

for ''Holy Isle''. Eynhallow Church 20110526 from northwest

Eynhallow as island church or monastery, was abandoned by the 16th century. The church was later modified and used as a residential dwelling. In 1851 there were 4 cottages remaining on the island. When the residents became ill, possibly due to a contaminated water supply, they were evacuated off the island. When the cottages were torn down, and the roof was pulled off one of the cottages, the foundation of the medieval church was discovered. The remains were later studied by antiquarians, T.S. Muir and Sir Henry Dryden. In 1897, the ruins were examined further by Professor T. Lethaby. In 1911 the site was placed in the guardianship of the Office of Works. Eynhallow church was first scheduled as a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

in 1921. Eynhallow is considered to be an important site in Norse folklore. It is said to be the home of the

Finfolk In Orkney folklore, Finfolk (sometimes Finnfolk) are sorcerous shapeshifters of the sea, the dark mysterious race from Finfolkaheem who regularly make an amphibious journey from the depths of the Finfolk ocean home to the Orkney Islands. They wa ...

, a mysterious tribe of mythical

shapeshifters In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

. The island was described in the

Orkneyinga Saga The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly No ...

, an anonymous narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands. The story is told of Olaf, the foster son of Svein Asleifarson and ward of Kolbein Hruga, who was kidnapped from Eynhallow in 1155. Olaf was most likely a student at the monastery at the time.

References

External links

*''Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland''
Eynhallow Monastery
*Orkneyjar
Eynhallow - The Holy Isle
{{coord, 59.14127, -3.12186, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:GB-ORK Churches in Orkney Ruins in Orkney Historic Environment Scotland properties in Orkney 12th-century church buildings in Scotland Church ruins in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Orkney Former Christian monasteries in Scotland