Skaill House
| Skaill House | |
| Orkney | |
|---|---|
 Skaill House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | HY234185 |
| Location: | 59°2’51"N, 3°20’9"W |
| History | |
| Built 1620 | |
| Country house | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Excellent |
| Owned by: | Private |
| Website: | skaillhouse.co.uk |
Skaill House stands on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island of Orkney, in the parish of Sandwick. It stands between the Bay of Skaill and Loch Skaill, and what there is of a hamlet of Skaill is no more than the house and attendant cottages and Skaill Home Farm, and the site of Skara Brae, once part of the estate..
Skaill House is reckoned to be the finest mansion in Orkney. It was built in 1620, with extensions since then, and has passed through the same family ever since, the touch of each of its twelve lairds felt upon the house and its contents. Beside it is the Neolithic village known as Skara Brae, which was discovered by a past laird of the estate, and a joint ticket to visit the Stone Age houses and the modern mansion ensures that the house and its garden are much visited.
The battering, scouring winds and driven waters off the Atlantic Ocean have left a largely bleak landscape around the estate, but the house has a garden, sunken and walled in against the wind.
History
The house was built by Bishop George Graham, Bishop of Orkney between 1615 and 1638, on the site of a farmstead thought to date to the Norse period. The name is older than Bishop Graham: 'Skaill' is from the Old Norse for 'hall', but there are remains here from before the Norse period.
The Stone Age is represented by Skara Brae, just 200 yards from the house. Bronze Age burial mounds have been found near Skaill House.
The remains of a broch and another Iron Age building can still be seen on the shoreline of the Bay of Skaill. The southern wing of the house stands on an early Norse burial ground.
Bishop George Graham's mansion of1620 was a simple mansion house. Later generations expanded it. The north tower and wing were the major extensions making the house what it is today.
In 1850 the 7th Laird, William Graham Watt, discovered Skara Brae. That site is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
In 1997, three years of restoration work were completed and the house was opened to the public: it is presented as it was in the 1950s.
Contents
Currently Skaill House is owned by Major Malcolm Macrae, the 12th Laird of Breckness. Major Macrae served with the Queen's Own Highlanders before returning to Orkney to run the family farm. He inherited the house in 1991 and it was he who restored it and opened it to public visits.
The house includes artefacts related to Skara Brae and an unusually Norse calendar stick. Bishop Graham’s bedroom can be viewed, and a dinner service used by Captain James Cook on his final voyage. There are also paintings by the acclaimed Orkney artist Stanley Cursiter and many other items collected during the lives of the twelve Lairds of Skaill.
Visits
Skaill House is one of Orkney’s top tourist attractions and is included as a joint ticket with Skara Brae. Skaill House is open to the public from April to September. The house is also available all year for weddings and private functions. In the North Wing of Skaill House there are also two apartments available as holiday accommodation. Skaill House is ideally situated on the stunning Orkney coastline and is an excellent base for exploring Orkney, 6 miles from Stromness and 16 miles from Kirkwall.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Skaill House) |