Description
From hermitages on wind-blasted holms to dour nineteenth-century preaching barns; from a splendid cathedral founded by a Norse earl to a Nissen hut painted by Italian prisoners during the Second World War; from city kirks built for huge and earnest Presbyterian congregations to a diminutive Roman Catholic chapel converted from a byre, Orkney’s churches are diverse in scale, age, style and history, but all play their part in a story that is as beautiful and stormy as the islands themselves.
Jocelyn Rendall tells the fascinating story of an island’s people through the records of these churches. From reluctant pagans to zealous firebrands and all in between, the tales within range from the hilarious to the heartbreaking and give a vibrant, enlightening and important perspective to Orkney’s rich history.
With evocative illustrations by Crispin Worthington