Rousay ( meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about 3 km (2 miles) north of
Orkney'sOrkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness...
MainlandThe Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections....
, off the north coast of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and has been nicknamed "the
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
of the north", due to its tremendous
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
diversity and importance.
It is separated from mainland Orkney by the
EynhallowEynhallow is a small uninhabited island, part of the Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.-Geography:Eynhallow lies in Eynhallow Sound between Mainland, Orkney and Rousay. It is in area....
Sound, and, like its neighbours
EgilsayEgilsay is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes.-St. Magnus Church:...
and
WyreWyre, also formerly spelt Weir, is one of the Orkney Islands, lying south-east of Rousay. It is and at its highest point.Orkney Ferries sail from the island to Tingwall on the Orkney Mainland, Egilsay and Rousay.-History:...
, can be reached by a ro-ro ferry (MV
Eynhallow) from
TingwallTingwall may refer to:*Tingwall, Orkney*Tingwall, Shetland*Tingwall Airport, Shetland Islands...
, on the mainland of Orkney, which takes 20–25 minutes. This service is operated by
Orkney FerriesOrkney Ferries is a company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands, to the north of the Scottish mainland in the United Kingdom.-History:...
, and can take up to 95 passengers (reduced to 50 in winter), and 11 cars. The ferry links the islands of Rousay, Egilsay, and Wyre with each other, and with the mainland of Orkney.
Geography and natural history
In the 2001 census, it had a population of 212 people. Most employment opportunities are in farming, fishing or fish-farming; there are also craft businesses and some seasonal tourism-related work. There is one circular road round the island, about long, and most arable land lies in the few hundred yards between this and the coastline. With an area of 18.8 square miles, it is the fifth largest of the Orkney Islands.
Rousay is a '
Site of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based...
' with notable cliff formations and wildflower colonies, and has an RSPB bird reserve. The hilliest Orkney island after
HoyHoy is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. With an area of , it is the second largest of the Orkney Islands after the Mainland. It is connected by a southern causeway called The Ayre to South Walls...
, it offers good views of neighbouring islands from Blotchnifiold , and Keirfea or Knitchen (both over ).
Summertime brings visitors drawn by its natural beauty and wildlife, including Rousay's
sealsThe Grey Seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
and
ottersThe European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
, and by its archaeological remains, especially the cluster of important sites connected by a footpath near the western shore.
History
The island has evidence from every stage in the history of Orkney, with a
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement at
RinyoRinyo was a Neolithic settlement on the island of Rousay in the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. The site was discovered in the winter of 1837-38 on the lands of Bigland Farm in the north east of the island at . It was excavated in 1938 and 1946 by Vere Gordon Childe, and by W....
,
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
burnt moundA burnt mound is a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon dates vary quite widely, the earliest being late Neolithic, with clusters of dates between 1900 -...
s,
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
crannogA crannóg is an artificial island, usually originally built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters, and most often used as an island settlement or dwelling place in prehistoric or medieval times. The name itself may refer to a wooden platform erected on shallow floors, but few remains of this sort...
s and
brochA Broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
s (the highest density anywhere in Scotland: three within of coastline),
VikingA Viking is one of the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far...
boat burials, remains of a medieval church and the
stately homeA stately home is, strictly speaking, one of about 500 large properties built in the British Isles between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property .These country houses are usually distinguished from true "castles", being of...
at
TrumlandTrumland House is a Grade B listed house on Rousay, Orkney, built in its present form in 1875. Designed by David Bryce, the house was commissioned by Sir F W Traill-Burroughs in 1870, as a new family home for himself on his return from India....
.
Over 100 archaeological sites have been identified, but only a small fraction of them have been excavated and researched. The best known and most spectacular of the island's archaeological sites is the complex of Midhowe
brochA Broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
and
Midhowe Chambered CairnMidhowe is a large Neolithic chambered cairn located on the south shore of the island of Rousay, Orkney, Scotland. The name "Midhowe" comes from the spectacular Bronze Age broch that lies just west of the tomb. The broch got its name from the fact that it's the middle of three such structures that...
. Blackhammer Stalled Burial Cairn, Taversoe Tuick, and Yarso are also important tombs on the island.
Rousay placenames reflect its
NorseNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language. The meaning of Norseman was "people from the North"...
heritage. 'Hrólfs-øy' or 'Hrolfsey' was based on the male name 'Hrolf' (Rolf).
Hugh Marwick'sDr Hugh Marwick was an Orcadian scholar noted for his research on the Orkney Norn....
work has shown the name developing from 'Rollesay' in the 14th century, through 'Rolsay' in the 15th, and 'Rowsay' in the early 16th, with the spelling 'Rousay' first recorded in 1549.
Most Rousay people have always earned their living from farming and/or fishing. In the 19th century, records show there were also tradespeople supplying the needs of a rural community: blacksmiths and joiners, shoemakers and shopkeepers, with women doing dressmaking and straw plaiting. Throughout the century, Rousay's landlords demanded high rents from
croftersA croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land.-Etymology:...
, many of whom were made homeless in a series of clearances along the western coast, ordered by landowner George William Traill in the 1820s and 1830s.
Rousay's population in the mid-19th century was over 900, but emigration following land clearances reduced that to 627 by 1900, and half a century later it had fallen to 342. Depopulation accelerated, and in the next twenty years the number fell to 181, its lowest ever. From the 1970s onward new families started to settle on Rousay: most came from the south, especially from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The population is now over 200.
Local Education
There is a local primary school, which provides education for boys and girls aged 3 to 12, and has a school roll of 18. Once a child completes his/her primary education, they must then move up to secondary school. Kirkwall Grammar School, or 'KGS',
KirkwallKirkwall is the largest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046. It was established as the settlement of Rögnvald II, Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his successor, Thorfinn...
, is the usual school, however, in recent years, Stromness Academy,
StromnessStromness /ˈstrɔmnəs/ is the second-largest town in Orkney, Scotland, and is located in the south-west of Mainland in Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital....
, has been the secondary school of choice for many of the pupils.
Many of the pupils, both at primary and secondary, are entitled to school transport on the island, which is free to the pupils.
Local authors
The poet
Pauline StainerPauline Stainer is an acclaimed English poet. She was born in the industrial district of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in 1941. She later left the city to attend St Anne's College, Oxford, where she took a degree in English...
spent several years on the island, and in 1999 published a collection of her poems about Rousay,
Parable Island.
Robert C. Marwick is a local author whose publications include
From My Rousay Schoolbag.
The astronomer, musician and writer, John Vetterlein first came to Rousay in 1970 and has lived on the island full-time since 1995. He established the small publishing house Spring Ast LIX in 1997, whose publications include:
Braes Woodland Diary - the First Ten Years by Ann Chapman.
External links