St Boniface Kirk (Papa Westray)

There is evidence of human occupation at the site during the Iron Age, around the 6th century BC. This large Iron Age settlement, which included a roundhouse, continued until 1000 AD. A Christian monastery was probably established at the site 200 years later during the 8th century. There were no visible remains of the early religious settlement in later years, except for the two Pictish cross-slabs uncovered in the graveyard in the 20th century, and the area's place name of Munkerhoose (monk's house). The importance of the island as an important religious centre in the medieval era is suggested by the information revealed in the Orkneyinga Saga of an earl that was buried in Papa Westray in…

St Boniface's Church is located on the west coast of the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The church is a small rectangular building made of harled rubble. It is single-storied with stepped gables and a slate roof. St Olaf's was built by the Norse in the 12th century. It originally contained a small nave and chancel. The building was expanded westward (around 2.4 m in 1710, to make room for an interior gallery that was accessed by an external stairway. The chancel was replaced at some unknown date with a family burial-place for the Traill family of Holland House, Papa Westray. The church was repaired in 1843 and restored 150 years later in 1993. A rubble boundary wall encloses…