The Bishops and Earls Palaces

Opposite the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral are the ruined remains of what would once have been spectacular residences of the Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces.

Originally built in the 12th Century as an adjoining palace of both the King and lodgings of the Bishop, which was called the Palace of the Yards. It is here that King Hakon of Norway died after his defeat by Alexander III of Scotland at the battle of Largs.

However these structures were largely rebuilt in the 16th Century and very little from the earlier period remains. This later stage is connected to the interesting story of the notorious Stewart earls of Orkney .

Soon after Orkney came under Scottish rule Bishop Robert Reid set about reconstructing the Episcopal palace. But in 1568 the Bishop’s Palace came into the possession of Earl Robert Stewart an illegitimate son of James V. He and his son Patrick Stewart ruled Orkney with a sadistic ruthlessness that has earned them unparalled notoriety in Scottish history. Earl Patrick was responsible for much of the building work on the Palaces and also for much of the infamy surrounding the Scottish Earls of Orkney.

The renaissance designs and architectural enrichment, some of which can still be seen, may underline the flamboyance of Earl Patrick, but the building work was virtually done through slave labour. Earl Patrick was a tyrant who would demand the labour of Orcadians without paying them or even feeding them and giving them water. Nothing less than a gangster, Patrick Stewart would have 50 musketeers for his protection at all times, even in the Cathedral. Eventually justice caught up with him and he was beheaded in Edinburgh for treason. To add to his devilry, Patrick was unable to recite the Lord’s Prayer and his sentence had to be postponed until he learnt it!

The ruins are interesting places to walk around and climbing their heights offer excellent photo angles of the cathedral and across Kirkwall harbour.