The cathedral church of St Magnus at Kirkwall, founded by St Rognvald in 1137 in memory of his uncle, is, except that of Glasgow, the only mediaeval cathedral in Scotland that remains complete in all its parts, and, in the words of the Danish historian Worsae, it constitutes incontestably the finest monument of their dominion that the Scandinavians have left in Scotland.

The church is a cruciform building, comprising nave and nave aisles, choir and choir aisles, north and south transepts, with a chapel off each transept to the east, and a central tower. The interior length of nave and choir is 217 feet 10 inches, exterior length 234½ feet; interior width of choir and aisles at the east end 47 feet 5½ inches; interior width across the transepts 89½ feet; height to vaulting 71 feet; height from floor under central tower to top of weather-cock 133 feet 4 inches. The stones used include two shades of red sandstone, one lilac, one yellow, and one veiny red and yellow, all brought from various parts of Orkney. Sir Henry Dryden professes to trace five distinct styles of architecture in the building, which he dates: 1137-1160, 1160-1200, 1200-1250, 1250-1350, and 1450-1500. All that is beyond conjecture as to the eras of erection, however, is that after St Rognvald’s death, in 1159, the building proceeded under the care of Bishop William the Old, until his death in 1168. Part at least of the church was consecrated before 1155, and received the remains of St Magnus, transferred from Christchurch in Birsay. The general impress of the building is severely Norman.

A conspicuous feature of the church is its great apparent size, an effect deliberately produced by a skilful adjustment of proportions, especially by the great relative height, the restricted width, and the spacing of the piers both in nave and choir. Specially fine features of the building are the beautiful east window, and the exquisitely carved doorways in the south transept and west front. These doorways, says Sir Henry, “are probably the finest examples in Great Britain of the use of two stones of different colours in patterns.” Unfortunately much of this beautiful particoloured work is badly weathered.

The church is at present undergoing “restoration” at the hands of the town council of Kirkwall, who own the fabric, in fulfilment of a bequest by the late George Hunter Thoms, Sheriff of Orkney.

On the highest point of the little island of Egilshay stands a very interesting church, which has been the subject of much archaeological conjecture since its general style appears to combine early Celtic and Norse elements, while it possesses one of those Irish Round Towers the only other Scottish examples of which are at Brechin and Abernethy. Apart from the tower, the church consists of nave and chancel, the nave measuring 30 feet by 15½ feet, and the chancel, which is vaulted, 15 feet by 9½ feet. The tower is now 48 feet high and unroofed, but is said to have been lessened by 15 feet many years ago. An old print shows both church and tower with slate roofs, that of the tower being the conical cap typical of the Irish Round Towers. The church was used for service down to the early part of last century.

Dryden’s conjecture that the church of Egilshay was built by Norsemen after the Irish model shortly after the reconversion of the Islands to Christianity c. 998 A.D., is a view which presents no anomalies either architectural or historical, when we consider that at that date many early Celtic churches must have survived in Orkney, and that, in any case, the close connection between Norse Orkney and the Scandinavian colonies in Ireland would give Orcadians ready access to Irish models. The alleged dedication of this church to St Magnus rests on the late and doubtful authority of Jo Ben (1529), but it was no doubt popularly associated with the Saint’s name because, as the Orkneyinga Saga tells, he entered it to pay his devotions on the day of his murder.

In the parish of Orphir, contiguous to the present parish church, stands the only example in Scotland of a circular church, built in imitation of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. All that remains of this interesting building, however, is the semicircular chancel, which is 7 feet 2 inches wide and 7 feet 9 inches deep, and about 9 feet of the circular nave on either side. From the curvature of the remaining portion, the diameter of the nave must have been from 18 to 19 feet. Dryden conjectures that the side walls of the nave may have been 15 feet or more in height, and that they were surmounted by a conical roof. This church was almost to a certainty erected by Jarl Hakon, the murderer of St Magnus, after his return from his expiatory pilgrimage to the Holy Land c. 1120.