Papa Stour, Brei Holm, 'leper Houses'
Leper Colony (18th Century), Stack Site (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Papa Stour, Brei Holm, 'leper Houses'
Classification Leper Colony (18th Century), Stack Site (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Maiden Stack
Canmore ID 253
Site Number HU16SE 2
NGR HU 1883 6038
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/253
- Council Shetland Islands
- Parish Walls And Sandness
- Former Region Shetland Islands Area
- Former District Shetland
- Former County Shetland
HU16SE 2 1883 6038
See also HU16SE 3.
(Area: HU 188 603) On the summit of Brei Holm, the precipitous islet S of Maiden Stack and 50 feet distant from Papa Stour, are the foundations of structures, each about 17 feet broad and of uncertain length, which are arranged roughly in the form of a cross. These are known locally as the 'Leper Houses'. The disease apparently died out in the area about 1742 when a day of thanksgiving was held.
RCAHMS 1946; OSA 1798.
Easson records that, whilst an 18th century leper settlement is well documented here, there is no foundation for the supposition that it was of medieval origin.
D E Easson 1957.
Centred HU 1883 6038. On the flattish top of Brei Holm, are the grass-covered outlines of some eight rectangular or sub-rectangular buildings and the grass-covered remains of a wall or bank on the landward side, mostly destroyed by erosion. The largest structure measures 20.0m x 4.0m, and is divided into two compartments; the smallest measures 5.0m x 3.5m. No further information was found regarding the purpose of these buildings.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ), 19 June 1968.
This site bears some resemblance to the Brough of Deerness, Orkney (HY50NE 14: RCAHMS inventory No. 621), and could possibly be the ecclesiastical site that is alleged to occur somewhere on Papa Stour.
Visited by OS (AA), 10 June 1968.
Trial Trench (2000)
A team from the University of Glasgow, led by Kevin Brady, undertook a topographic survey who conducted a topographic survey of the Brei Holm and the neighbouring sea stack off the W of Shetland. Three of the features recorded in that survey were examined in trial trenches. The excavations revealed complex structural remains whilst the associated rich artefactual assemblage included over 220 ceramic sherds, worked stone, pumice and a possible small quantity of industrial waste. The limited nature of this exploratory season has raised as many questions about this enigmatic site as it sought to answer.
K Brady 2008
Note (4 March 2016 - 18 May 2016)
Tradition held that the small precipitous island of Brei Holm, off the E coast of Papa Stour's SE peninsular, was the site of a leper colony, but Raymond Lamb identified this as one of a number monastic sites with a cluster of eight rectangular buildings likely to be of Norse date (1973; 1976); more recent evaluation trenches amongst these buildings have recovered evidence of complex occupation, and two radiocarbon dates indicate it was occupied in at least the 5th-7th centuries AD (Brady and Batey 2008). While not obviously a promontory fort now, a noted feature of the island is the remains of a bank running the length of the landward facade opposite the mainland of Papa Stour, a distance of about 130m, with a possible entrance opening into a cleft in the cliff-line above the strand of beach that now links the island to the mainland at low water. The island is riven with through sea-caves, which accounts for the origin of the channel that now separates it from the mainland, though at what date it became detached is unknown. Though the bank was not trenched and may yet turn out to be a more recent agricultural boundary, it is possible that the occupation of this island originates as a fortified promontory; its interior covers an irregular area currently measuring 120m from N to S by 100m transversely (0.6ha), and was doubtless once rather larger. The grass-grown stone footings of a cluster of eight sub-rectangular buildings are visible on the top of the island.
Information from An Atlas of Hillforts of Great Britain and Ireland – 18 May 2016. Atlas of Hillforts SC4197
