Earls Palace Birsay

The Earl’s Palace at Birsay is a large defended courtyard from the latter 16th century erected by Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney. Intended to be a fashionable residence from the outset, the courtyard was rectangular with the main residence at the rear, along one of the shorter sides. Ranges of buildings extend down each side, and square towers defended three of the corners. The gate pend was centrally placed the opposite end to the accommodation.

Robert was made sheriff in 1564, and strong-armed the Bishop of Orkney into a land exchange which gave him Birsay, the site of the first cathedral of Orkney and one of the Bishops houses. Complaints about his behaviour and a whiff of treason led to his imprisonment in 1575, but he was released in 1579. In 1581 he was made earl of Orkney, but the property remained incomplete at his death in 1593. His son Patrick may have altered the plan but certainly completed the building before his arrest in 1610. Patrick’s illegitimate son Robert occupied the palace and defended it against the siege of the earl of Caithness in 1614.  The two men were eventually executed. The palace reverted to the Bishops, who lived here until 1688, but it was deteriorating, and fell into ruin by 1701.

Today the palace is maintained by Historic Scotland, and is open to the public for a fee.

Official Historic Scotland page

HES Canmore database entry