Kirkwall, St Ola's Church And Burial-ground
Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (16th Century)
Site Name Kirkwall, St Ola's Church And Burial-ground
Classification Burial Ground (Period Unassigned), Church (16th Century)
Alternative Name(s) St Olaf's Church
Canmore ID 2480
Site Number HY41SE 8
NGR HY 4504 1116
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/2480
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Kirkwall And St Ola
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY41SE 8.00 4504 1116
See also HY41SE 9 and HY41SE 31.
HY41SE 8.01 HY 450 111 Hogback Stone
(HY 4504 1116) Site of St Ola's Church (NR)
OS 25" map, Orkney, 1st ed., (1881).
St Ola's Church, Kirkwall: A building long occupied as a dwelling house, but, to judge from its ecclesiastical details, in all probability representing what is left of "St Ola's Kirk" rebuilt by Bishop Robert Reid, (J Wallace ed. 1883) who held the see from 1540 to the Reformation. It was planned and described by Dryden in 1855, (D MacGibbon and T Ross 1896) and is a single oblong, measuring externally 42'3" by 23'9". It is not certain that the rebuilding was completed. In 1726 the fabric was ruinous, but Bishops Reid's name and coat of arms could then be seen upon it. There must have been a church of this dedication before the period of Bishop Reid, for "Schir Walter Havyck, persone of Sant Olave Kirk" was witness to a disposition in 1481, (J S Clouston 1914) the title being here used to indicate a priest. The writer known as Jo Ben records that "there is another church here, reduced to ashed by the English named St Ola's Kirk, where criminals are now buried." (Macfarlane's Geographical Collections Vol.3). Such burials would be in the "yaird", which is mentioned in 1580. (Macfarlane's Geogrphical Collections Vol.1). The formation of the lane S of the church revealed evidence of a graveyard, including a stone visible in Dryden's day.
RCAHMS 1946.
This building, at HY 4506 1116, known locally as St Olaf's Church, has been much mutilated, and is now being incorporated in to a modern building. The southern doorway remains intact. Mr J L Hibbert, Custodian, Earl's Palace, Kirkwall, confirmed the discovery of graves in the lane immediately S of the church.
Visited by OS (NKB) 5 April 1964.
The sole remnant of this church is its S doorway, now preserved in a wall on the N side of St Olaf's Wynd (for which, see HY41SE 31).
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (AA) 23 May 1973.
Publication Account (1981)
The first known church to be erected in Kirkwall was that of St. Olaf, founded in the eleventh century by Earl Rognvald. An English writer in the early sixteenth century noted that the church had been burnt in a raid on the islands, but it was restored a few years later by Bishop Reid (MacGibbon & Ross, 1896, I, 112). By 1677 it was in a ruinous state and turned into a Poorhouse - not so much on the inspired instigation of Kirkwall magistrates, but through the persuasion of an Act of Parliament (Hossack, 1900, 161). After serving as a Poorhouse for a number of years, the Magistrates let it to various tenants and the church of St. Olaf latterly served time as a warehouse and carpenter's shop. Today, what remains of the structure has been transformed into a residence for the manager of a savings bank. Dryden, noting the building in the middle of the nineteenth century, described it as a simple oblong measuring 42' 3" (12.88m) long by 23' 9" (7.24m) wide (RCAM, 1946, II, 145). One gravestone from the churchyard at that time was still visible to the south of the church. The church building, which stands on the east side of Bridge Street, had been at one time converted into a close which was subsequently dubbed 'Poorhouse Close' (MacGibbon & Ross, 1896, I, 109).
Information from ‘Historic Kirkwall: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (1977).
Publication Account (1996)
All that survives of this church, the first built 111 Kirkwall and the kirk of the place-name, is a weathered but still impressive doorway now set into a wall in St Olaf's Wynd. Carved of sandstone blocks, it has a heavily ornate moulding. It is thought that the church may may been built by Earl Rognvald Brusason, who is recorded in Orkneyinga Saga as having a residence in Kirkwall in the mid 11th century and who was Olaf's foster-son. It was to this church that the relics of St Magnus were brought from Birsay, prior to the building of St Magnus Cathedral. A hogback tombstone of 11th century date was found in the churchyard (now in Tankerness House Museum).
The later history of the church is uncertain, until the mid 16th century when Bishop Robert Reid is recorded as having reconstructed St Olaf's Church.The carved sandstone aumbry preserved in the 19th-century St Olaf's Church is likely to belong to Bishop Reid's reconstruction of the older church. Although St Olaf's was eclipsed by the creation of St Magnus Cathedral, it clearly retained a role in the life of Kirkwall for several centuries.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Orkney’, (1996).
