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Mirkady Point, Herring-curing Station
Fishing Station (19th Century)
Site Name Mirkady Point, Herring-curing Station
Classification Fishing Station (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Groat's Station; Deerness, Mirkady Point, Fishing Station
Canmore ID 3013
Site Number HY50NW 51
NGR HY 53748 06843
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/3013
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish St Andrews And Deerness
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY50NW 51 53748 06843
Groat's Station at Mirkady is a good-quality two-storeyed building of three bays, measuring 12.9m from E-W by 5.6m transversely. A grey sandstone plaque over the central doorway carried an inscription, now illegible. It was built in 1846 by Mr Groat of Newhall, and for a time was the main herring-curing station in deerness, but by 1880 curing was discontinued and the building had assumed its present use as a store.
Name Book 18??; Bichan 1977; RCAHMS 1987.
2-storey, 3-bay rectangular-plan symmetrical fishing station with lean-to shed to rear (now roofless) and forestair to W gable. Random rubble. S (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: boarded door at ground in bay to centre; window (blocked) at 1st floor above. Window at ground in bay to left; window (blocked) at 1st floor above. Window (blocked) at each floor in bay to right. N (REAR) ELEVATION: single storey, 4-bay former shed wall spanning rear elevation. Former window in each bay to left; former doorway in bay to outer right; bottle-shaped fireplace to interior W wall; remnants of rubble stack above. Centred blocked window at each floor to rear elevation of fishing station behind; small ventilation holes along entire elevation beneath eaves. Single remaining fixed timber-framed window; remainder blocked. Grey slate roof; coped skews; rubble, corniced stacks.
The 19th century saw a boom in herring fishing with many similar buildings being erected around Orkney to land the vast catches. Herring fishing in Deerness supported 50-60 boats in the mid 19th century. The name Mirkady probably derives from the Old Norse word, myrkr, meaning dark or dusky. It has been suggested that the word might refer to the long, dark ridge of seaweed which lines the shoreline at low tide and is clearly visible from the fishing station. The lean-to was probably added in the 1880s boom to accomodate extra fish-gutters. ( Historic Scotland)
Orkney Smr Note (June 1986)
Groat Station - a two-story stone building situate in Mirkady
Point used as a place for storage etc in the fishing season, the
propery of Sam Reid Esq Kirkwall. [R1]
Mr Groat of Newhall built the Store of Mirkady 1846 for the
herring fishery. It became the main curing station in Deerness
but suffered from lack of a pier and curing was discontinued by
the late 1870's. [R2]
Rectangular two-storey building of three bays, facing S,
12.9m E-W by 5.6m, with chimneys in each gable-wall. A later
lean-to extension on N side. Doorway to upper storey in W Gable-
wall is reached by an external stair. It is built of the local
flagstone but the four skew-puts are of dressed red sandstone. A
grey-buff sandstone plaque set above the doorway, in the central
bay, appears to have carried an insciption, now illegible. The
building has been modified recently to serve as an agricultural
store.
Information from Orkney SMR (RGL) June 1986.
