Holm

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Holm
Orkney
Holm, manse and kirk.jpg
Holm church and manse
Population: 739
Grid reference: HY491032
Location: 58°54’50"N, 2°52’60"W

Holm (pronounced /hæm/ [1]) is a parish on Mainland, Orkney.[2]

An adjacent Sound, running between Mainland, and Burray, is named after Holm.[2] It has since been blocked up by the Churchill Barriers.[1] The parish flanks the north side of the Sound and extends to within 2½ miles of Kirkwall, and contains the village of St Mary's Holm, as well as the island of Lamb Holm. The Mainland section is six miles by two miles.[2]

The shores are mostly rocky, and the interior consists of light thin, loamy land.[2]

Church and manse

Holm church and manse are both of unusual design. The church has no spire or turret, and the manse is constructed so that all chimneys appear through the centre of a pyramidal roof.

World War II

Netherbutton Radar Station, which was part of the Chain Home system, was situated on both sides of the A961 road, although little now remains except four concrete mast bases.[3] Its construction was supervised by Leonard Chapman, who then held the rank of corporal.[4][5]

Notable people

  • F. Marian McNeill, folklorist, suffragist and a founder of the Scottish National Party. Her father was Free Church minister of Holm for nearly fifty years, and her brother Duncan was also a writer.

References

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("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Holm)
  1. 1.0 1.1 Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1841954543. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wilson, Rev. John The Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone
  3. The location is HY462043. See "Raf Netherbutton, Chain Home Radar Station" scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  4. Leonard George Chapman, Resume.
  5. Jim MacDonald, Radar In Orkney. Unpublished.  v2.2
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