Hall of Rendall, settlement 275m NE of and St Thomas's Kirk

Heritage listing

Date Added 18/03/1957 Last Date Amended 30/10/2002 Type Ecclesiastical: church, Prehistoric domestic and defensive: broch; other midden deposits; settlement (if not assigned to any more specific type) Local Authority Orkney Islands Parish Evie And Rendall NGR HY 42507 21003 Coordinates 342507, 1021003 — The monument comprises the remains of a settlement mound containing one or more substantial prehistoric structures and associated remains; and the remains of a medieval church. The settlement (then termed a 'broch') and the church were first scheduled separately in 1957, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present re-scheduling rectifies this and combines the two smaller scheduled areas into one larger one. The monument lies on the NE coast of Orkney Mainland, overlooking Eynhallow Sound. The site first identified as a possible broch lies on a low promontory, in a typical broch location; but the mostly turf-covered remains visible on the ground surface are difficult to reconcile with those of a typical broch. Several straight-sided features and lines of walling are visible. For example, there is a roughly square platform on the SW side of the mound, bounded on three sides by walls, which may have been for midden. Other surface indications suggest complex settlement remains but form no coherent pattern. The settlement is suffering active coastal erosion, which has exposed two main areas of massive stone walls in the cliff section, perhaps indicative of an Atlantic roundhouse. The interior of the probable roundhouse (between the walls) may still contain occupation and floor levels. Complex extra-mural drystone walled structures are visible elsewhere in the cliff section, together with possible floors and extensive middens;

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.