Whalsay Parish Church

The church, dedicated to the Holy Rood, was within a quoad sacra parish. In 1845, Whalsay Church was reportedly visited by the parish minister eleven times in the year. It was intended that the church to be endowed as a Parliamentary church, but that did not occur. At the time, a new roof was added, and the seating was noted to be uncomfortable. Whalsay Kirk became a Category B listed building in 1974.

This ancient church is located over the North Ness. The kirk is on the site of an earlier church (1733), apparently a simple T-shaped construction with arched doors and a galleried interior. The pulpit probably stood between the central windows of the south wall. The church was remodelled in 1867, in fieldstone with sandstone trimmings, as a galleried hall with a two-storey northern wing. It has a modern grey tile roof. There are four bays on the south wall, two with large highly positioned windows at the centre, flanked by two with smaller windows at a lower level. Projecting cills have been provided over the windows. The round-arched door on the western facade is topped by a polished…