St Magnus Cathedral

St Magnus Cathedral was founded as a final resting place for the relics of St Magnus. Work on its construction started in 1137. Towering above the Kirkwall landscape, with its distinctive sandstone hues, it is one of Orkney's most significant landmarks. Parts of this impressive building have stood for more than 850 years and its attractive appearance owes much to the polychromatic effect of the alternating stonework, comprising red sandstone quarried from Head of Holland, north of Kirkwall, and yellow sandstone which is believed to have been quarried on Eday, one of Orkney's northern isles. Sandstone is extremely soft and the weathering effects of Orcadian wind and rain over the course of time have helped create pleasing, almost sculptured effects that add to the Cathedrals charm. Sir Henry Dryden considered the stonework to be the finest example in Great Britain of the use of stones in two different colours and few visitors today would disagree.

The Reformation brought ruin to many cathedrals but St Magnus Cathedral seems to have emerged relatively unscathed, although the organ, treasures and rich vestments were removed and the wall decorations were covered in whitewash. Despite restoration in the mid 19th century the Cathedral slowly deteriorated until the early 20th century when The Thoms Bequest made further major restoration possible. Between 1913 and 1930, the main alteration to the exterior of the Cathedral was the erection of a tall steeple which replaced the low pyramidal roof of the bell tower. Internally, the screen separating the choir from the nave was removed, along with the pews and galleries. Stained glass windows replaced the formerly plain windows, much of the floor was tiled and the warm red sandstone was revealed by the removal of plaster and whitewash.