Birsay (/ˈbʌrsiː/) (Old Norse:Birgisherað)[1] is aparish in the north west corner ofThe Mainland ofOrkney,Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chieflygrassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient monuments in the parish.
Two important ancient monuments are maintained byHistoric Scotland and bring many visitors to the area in summer. These are theprehistoric andNorse settlements on thetidal island ofBrough of Birsay and theruins of theEarl's Palace on the Mainland opposite, at the northern end of the village.
On the western part of Mainland Orkney's north shore there is other evidence ofprehistoric man, including the well preservedruins of theBroch of Gurness.
The late 16th-century palace was built byRobert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533–93). Though extensively ruined, it can be seen to have consisted of four ranges round an open courtyard, with small towers at the corners, an unusual form of building inScotland at this date, and unprecedented in the north of the country. The date 1574 was formerly carved above the main (south-facing) entrance. The building has been uninhabited since the late 17th century. It was originally adjoined by walled garden enclosures, an archery range and a bowling green. This building, along with theEarl's Palace, Kirkwall andScalloway Castle inShetland (allHistoric Scotland), were the main residences of the Stewart Earls of Orkney in the Northern Isles.
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Near the palace is theSt Magnus Church of the parish of Birsay andHarray (Church of Scotland; open in summer). Architectural fragments in the walls, and archaeological investigation of the foundations, suggest that this was the site of the first cathedral of Orkney in the 11th-12th centuries, known asChristchurch, founded by EarlThorfinn the Mighty (d.c. 1065) after his return from apilgrimage toRome. The seat of the diocese was transferred toSt Magnus Cathedral,Kirkwall, in the later 12th century, though theBishops of Orkney continued to have a residence in Birsay (known by theLatin nameMons Bellus) into late medieval times.
The nearby bridge may also be medieval in origin.
