The Earl’s Palace is a renaissance palace, sitting in the heart of Kirkwall alongside the medieval Bishop’s Palace. A short walk away is the fabulous red sandstone St Magnus Cathedral, showing Orkney’s Norse heritage. One of my trips to the Orkneys and the other sites on the island is covered in my blog, here.
Visiting the Earl’s Palace
The Earl’s Palace is incredibly easy to visit on Orkney as it’s in the old centre of the town. There is parking nearby although not specifically for these attractions and Kirkwall has some lovely cafes. There is a small shop and ticket office on site.
My Experience
I’ve been lucky enough to have good weather on all my visits to Orkney. The two palaces in Kirkwall are an easy visit every time as most of the building can be seen by walking around the outside before or after opening times if I am working.
The contrast between the solid and defendable Bishop’s Palace and the far more open and ornate Earl’s Palace is certainly noticeable.
Earl’s Palace Photo Gallery
History
Directly opposite the Bishop’s Palace in Kirkwall, and a short distance to the south of St Magnus Cathedral, are the remains of the Earl’s Palace.
Hailed as “the finest example of French Renaissance architecture in Scotland”, the Earl’s Palace is undoubtedly a piece of splendid architectural brilliance.
However, to the people of Orkney, the palace is regarded as a memorial to what has been described as one of the darkest and bleakest episodes of Orkney history – the rule of the Stewart Earls.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Orkney was under the rule of the Stewart family, first Earl Robert – an illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland – and then his son, Patrick. History treats both men as despots and extraordinarily vicious extortioners.
They are alleged to have forced the Orcadians under their rule to work without pay and jailing, or torturing, those who would not comply with their wishes. The Stewarts’ men controlled Orkney’s council and courts and were therefore held to be above the law.
Then known as the “Newark in the Yards”, the construction of the Earl’s Palace began in 1600, instigated by Patrick Stewart, a few years after his accession to the earldom. Using forced labour to quarry and ship in the stone for the grandiose scheme, Patrick Stewart planned to build a dwelling unrivalled in design, comfort and beauty.
His plan was to incorporate the remains of the Bishop’s Palace into a massive palatial complex. But his dreams were not to be and by 1606, Earl Patrick Stewart was heavily in debt.
The Earl’s Palace was completed in 1607 but, shortly afterwards, Patrick Stewart was arrested and work completing the final complex had to be abandoned. After Patrick’s execution in 1615, the portion of the Earl’s Palace already built became the residence of Orkney’s bishops.
By 1705, the palace had fallen into disrepair and was no longer fit for habitation. By 1745, the roof had been stripped and the slates sold. The structure has remained roofless ever since.
References
Historic Scotland has full visiting information here.
There is an excellent account of the buildings on the Orkney site here and the history above is copied from there.