Earl's Palace, Birsay

On the north-western tip of Orkney’s Mainland stand the ruins of the Earl’s Palace at Birsay, a sixteenth-century residence raised by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. An illegitimate son of King James V, Stewart built the palace in two campaigns: the first begun in the 1570s and marked by an inscription dated 1574, the second completed in the 1580s, most likely after he secured the Earldom of Orkney in 1581. The building served at once as fortress and grand household, its two storeys ranged around a central courtyard and well, with large stone towers rising at three corners. Where the upper rooms opened through generous windows, the ground floor was pierced only by small openings and gun-holes, allowing musketeers to command every approach. The first phase provided a great hall in the south range and a private chamber in the south-east tower; the second added a further hall and chamber to the north. Visiting in 1701, the Reverend John Brand recorded painted ceilings depicting biblical scenes on the upper floor. After Stewart’s death the palace was used only occasionally, lay empty from the mid-seventeenth century, and by 1701 had begun to decay badly. Historic Environment Scotland now cares for the roofless remains as a scheduled monument.