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Summary

Description

1832. Plain, 2-storey, rectangular-plan church. Single storey porch to N; single storey vestry to S; bellcote to W gable. Wet harled.

N ELEVATION: plain elevation. Central porch; plain N gable wall; window in right return; door in left return.

E & W ELEVATIONS: central round-headed doorway; recessed door; fanlight above. Central 1st floor round-headed opening; rectangular window recessed within; ventilation louvres above.

S ELEVATION: 2 tall central round-headed windows; 2 smaller round-headed windows to outer bays; intersecting tracery. Central vestry; plain gable wall; door in right return; window in left return.

Sandstone skews; exposed, droved keystones to all gables. Pitched roofs; Welsh slate. Gable end coped stack to porch and vestry. Birdcage bellcote to W gable; arched opening in W and E faces; corner pinnacles; truncated pyramid roof; surmounting ball-finialled obelisk.

INTERIOR: carpeted flag floor. Timber pews to N, E and W. Central passage way from E to W; entrance from porch in N wall. Central timber pulpit on S wall; flanking steps to E. Tall sounding board with canopy to pulpit. Carved timber communion table in front; stone font with celtic design to left. 2 large box pews to N; seating at all sides; narrow central table. Access to gallery at E and W. Gallery to N, E and W; timber pews and panelling to front. Gallery supported on thin, fluted, square-plan timber piers. Timber boarding to coved ceiling. Brass gas lamps (converted to electricity). Granite tablet to W of N door erected in memory of the crew of the Longhope Lifeboat who died at sea whilst going to the aid of SS Irine, 1969. Bronze plaque below commemorating the unveiling of the above memorial by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 1970. 3 early 17th century timber panels above door leading to porch, carved with saltires and rosettes.

Statement of Special Interest

Ecclesiastical building, in use as such. A plain exterior belies a busy interior. According to RCAHMS, the carved panels and those in St John's Church, Walls, Hoy Parish Church belong to the same series. The central panel is also identical to one at Skaill House, Sandwick, which is mounted on the wall in the Bishop's Room. According to the guide book, the Skaill House panel is dated 1624 and comes from the Bishop's loft (pew) in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, (George Graham, Bishop of Orkney 1615-1675).

References

Bibliography

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